Alexia Potter's Fantastical Trip To The Past
by Mia-Marauder-Potter
Summary: After a long day of fighting the final battle, Hermione was sent back in time by Snape to the Marauder era to live out her life as Alexia Potter, twin of James Potter. She was scared and tired and traumatized, and it was all she could hope that she could heal there. So, Dumbledore turns her eleven and send her to the Potter home. REWRITTEN and in progress.
1. Mold Our Emotions

**Chapter 1**

 _Now is the climax to the story_

 _That gives the demons and angels purpose_

 _They fly around while we are walking_

 _And mold our emotions just to please them_

 **May 2nd, 1998**

Hermione Granger paced back and forth in front of Dumbledore's portrait, agitated. She was in pain and needed her potions and probably a healer, but she didn't want to do anything until she spoke with Dumbledore. After everything she and her friends had gone through, she deserved that. She deserved to make him answer for the things he'd done, even in death.

"Am I interrupting?"

Hermione spun around, her wand pointed at Snape. Her lips thinned as she recognized the man, but she didn't lower the wand. She didn't know what to think of him. "Yes, actually."

"Too bad," he told her, waving his hand at the door to lock it. She tensed, gripping her wand so tight that her knuckles turned white. "There are things you need to know, Granger. Your fight isn't over."

"If you're trying to threaten me-,"

"No," he assured her stiffly. He looked uncomfortable like he was unsure how to calm her. "This is a genuine warning… you're going to go to the past."

"I don't understand," Hermione hissed, glaring at her old teacher. He rolled his eyes at her.

"That's new."

"Okay, I'm leaving. I'm too tired to deal with your bullshit, Snape."

He put his hands up. "I mean exactly what I said," he told her in place of an apology, though if she'd cared, she'd have seen it in his eyes.

"But it's not possible," she denied, shaking her head, exhausted. "The only way is a Time Turner, and those were destroyed when-,"

"When you and your friends stampeded the ministry," he finished for her in a huff. She glared darkly.

"Careful. It's been a long day. I haven't even seen anyone yet for my injuries."

"You don't look injured."

Hermione threw her hands in the air. "That's it, I'm leaving."

He shot her an alarmed look, and she began to realize that he was serious. "No! No. Why don't I just tell you what I know?"

"That would be fine."

"I met Alexia Potter when shopping for my first year of Hogwarts," he explained slowly, obviously uncomfortable with sharing such private information. "She was kind to me and was my first friend, aside from… Lily. Then, when we were parting ways, Mother came across us. She insulted Alexia and her family and shoved her when walking past. I helped Alexia up, but her twin brother James came and thought I had shoved her. He yelled and blamed me. She tried to explain, but she'd not yet gotten under his skin the way she would in years to come. We became rivals that day.

"She gained some other friends and fell in with her brother and his crowd. She was the reason Lily and I stayed friends for so long – she always promised that I was a good man. We never stopped being friends, even when Lily… did. One day, in 1979, she stopped by my home, crying. She explained that she was from 1998 and that she had to go back soon. She told me that I would be the one to send her back and tell her this story, or what little of it I am willing to share.

"Alexia told me that she would be here, on the night of the final battle, to speak with Dumbledore. She said that I would give her the news instead."

"And you think I am Alexia Potter," Hermione said with an eye roll. "This is all ridiculous."

In response, he threw a softly glowing orb at her and, out of instinct, she caught it. When she realized her mistake, she tried to put it down, but it was practically glued to her hand as it heated up, nearly burning her.

"Fuck, Snape, I'm going to kill you for this," she snapped as the orb brightened into a white light. It felt like it was readying itself for something, and the worry made her sick.

"I look forward to it," he gave her a smile, possibly the first smile he'd ever given her, and watched as the orb blew up, glass flying into her arms and chest and neck before she was thrown back in time painfully.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **May 2nd, 1971**

Albus Dumbledore was not a paranoid man. He'd always kept careful wards around the school, his office, his chambers, everything. He'd always made sure to see each student at least once during their time at Hogwarts, and he made sure to know all of their names – something that was not easy. So, when a nineteen-year-old girl appeared in front of the wall of portraits, unconscious, Dumbledore felt he was right to prod through her mind before waking her. The only issue was, she had defenses that, surprisingly, rivaled his own.

With a defeated sigh, he put a protective ward around himself and woke the poor girl. Before even opening her eyes, she had her wand in hand and pointed at him. She peeked an eye open and screeched in shock, pulling herself tightly against the wall and keeping her wand trained on him. He raised an eyebrow and she only seemed more upset.

"Pr- Professor…," she trailed off as sadness filled her eyes. He glanced down at her injuries and sighed when he saw glass buried into her arms, stomach, and neck, and her fist was clenched around something that glowed through the cracks of her fingers. He had a sinking feeling that he knew what it was. "This isn't possible."

"I'm afraid you'll find that the impossible is most probable," he told her solemnly. She made a move to stand and he stared in shock when she didn't wince in pain. She slowly pulled herself to her feet and glanced around the room, though neither hand wavered in its position.

"Fuck," she cursed. He repressed the need to tell her not to swear as she turned to look at him again. "What year is this?"

"It is 1971," he told her calmly. His suspicion of how this battered girl got there grew with those words.

"Shit," she muttered angrily.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I'm afraid I must wonder how you've come to… be here," he tried, sighing inwardly at his own words.

"Ah," she shrugged. "A future headmaster."

"My successor?" He asked curiously. She snorted.

"Something like that," she told him, and he did not miss the bitter tone. "Right. I'm Her- oh, should I even share my name?"

"I think so," he told her with a forced kind smile.

"Well, I'm Hermione Granger," she offered. She seemed to be debating something, but he interrupted her when he saw blood dripping from her leg.

"Well, Miss Granger, perhaps we should fix you up while you explain how you came to be here?"

"I guess," she shrugged as if it didn't really bother her. He grew worried that this young girl had found a reason to care so little about such wounds, and he knew only one way to find a reason. He pushed the thought aside and ushered her over to a large chair, thankful that she seemed to trust him immediately, even if she was somewhat uneasy.

"Please open your hand," he requested gently. She blinked up at him as she realized she had been clenching her fist. With what seemed like a great effort, she opened her hand and he gasped upon seeing the energy he'd feared would be there. Without hesitation, he plucked a vial from his desk and trapped it inside.

"I'm not sure how much I should tell you," she admitted. "I'd rather you not change the future upon learning its contents."

"I would never," he told her, offended. He gently plucked some glass from her skin and siphoned off the blood. "The future cannot be changed, Miss Granger. What will happen for me has already happened for you – time is not so weak that it can be changed. It is firm and unwavering. You coming here has only happened because it already did."

"That's… interesting," she commented, flinching for the first time when he reached to heal her arm. She shook her head at him and he moved on for the moment, working on her stomach next instead. "In my third year, I was granted a Time-Turner so I could take all the classes I could. At the end of the year… some things happened, and my best friend – brother, really – and I used it to save his godfather's life and the life of a hippogriff."

"I see," Dumbledore said slowly. He moved to her leg and quickly cleaned and healed the cut. "So, you only saved them because you'd already done it, then."

"So, you're saying I can tell you… things?" she asked, obviously unsure.

"Only enough to ensure you are no threat and only what you are comfortable with," he offered kindly. Everything he could see had been healed, but he was tired from it. There had been a lot. He cast a few diagnostic spells and waited in horror as the parchment in front of him filled itself out, growing longer when it ran out of room.

"Okay," she nodded, ignoring the parchment. "Well, I am Hermione Granger, and you were my headmaster for my entire school education."

"That's wonderful," he said with a tight smile, suddenly concerned over how a student of his had gotten so grievously injured. He also had to wonder how she was even functioning after being submitted to such torture so recently.

"Yes, well… when you died," she winced at the words, and Dumbledore couldn't help but agree. "My two friends and I had to go on the run. The war that is brewing today had begun again, and we were the number one, two, and three targets. There were… things we had to do in order to end the war. Anyway, when we left Hogwarts, a man was put in charge of the school. He was… he stayed loyal to you until his last breath, even if we doubted him."

"Good man," Dumbledore commented sadly. She obviously had mixed feelings over the man, and as much as he wanted to know everything, he also refused to interrupt if he could avoid it.

"Yes," Hermione said, but he didn't miss the way she glared at her hands. "He was a spy. He was forced to let Voldemort and the Death Eaters into the school."

"You do not fear his name?" Dumbledore asked in surprise. People were afraid to say the name, even if he hadn't declared war yet.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," she told him with an eye roll.

"Who said that?" He wondered.

"You," she laughed. He laughed along with her, though softer.

"I believe I shall credit us both for that quote, as I've never said it before," he informed her. She shrugged as if it didn't matter and moved on.

"So they were in the school. When we… after…" she sucked in a deep breath and glared at her forearm. "After a nasty incident, we found our way back to the school to finish our job. It was awful, Professor. I- I don't know how the students survived."

"I see," he hummed, and she knew he'd already figured out what had happened to her. She was doing her best to avoid looking at the parchment next to her, but she definitely knew it was there and that it was _long_.

"It didn't take long for the battle to begin," she sighed sadly. "Younger students were taken to safety, but anyone old enough and willing to fight did so. The… The Light arrived and fought as well, but… fuck, so many of us died."

"That is war," he told her sadly. He wasn't sure how someone could look so stubbornly okay and completely broken at the same time. It was like she was warring with herself, and neither side was winning.

"Yeah," she shuddered. "My best friend, the one that's like a brother… I thought he was dead. It was the worst few minutes of my life. He… he told me that he did die, but something caused him to come back. I'm not sure I believe that but… well, he was… I think something inside of him died – something that had been placed inside of him. I don't know. We didn't get long to talk after the battle was over. It was… I'm… I don't…" She broke off, gasping to regain control of her breathing, which had become ragged. Dumbledore rose from his chair next to her and found a bottle of calming drought. He handed it to her and she downed it greedily. Within a few agonizing minutes, she was calm enough to speak again.

"Awful things happened to all of us," she said, a faraway look in her eyes. "Friends died, family died, lovers died. I watched as my best friend's ex-girlfriend was mauled by Greyback. My best friend lost the last family he had, aside from me and our other friend's family. I- well, the war wasn't kind to me, either."

Dumbledore pursed his lips, knowing just how much of an understatement that was. He was sure that he couldn't heal the rest of her without Poppy, but he was equally sure that this was the only time she'd open up the way she was. She wasn't in danger of dying, so he decided to allow her to talk for now.

"After we won," Dumbledore let himself smile at those words. "I spent a little while speaking with my friends before… before going back here to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"I had some… questions for you. I wanted to know why you did some of the things you did," she told him, looking away. He thought he saw a flash of anger, but he couldn't be sure. "But your portrait was asleep. Instead, the man that came after you… he found me there.

"He told me that he'd met me when I was… shopping for first year at Hogwarts. That we became friends and… well, that I was here. He threw this orb thing at me and I caught it on accident. That's when I came here," she finished, looking up at him in worry. He hummed quietly as he thought. He settled on a decision easily.

"Well, then it seems you will be returning to Hogwarts," he told her with fake cheer. She frowned at him.

"Sir, I'm nineteen."

"Yes. I have a solution for that, however," he told her with a real smile. He'd only used the potion once before, and he had a strange love for it. "We'll simply de-age you."

"Simply _what now_?" She asked him, eyes sharp. He fought the urge to smirk.

"It's a simple potion that will de-age you to a certain age. I think eleven will do this time."

"But- but, I don't have a family or money with me- er, I do, but it's not enough for this," she told him, nervous for the first time since she'd arrived.

"Ah, yes. Did the man not mention anyone?" He asked her. She shrugged helplessly, frowning still.

"James Potter and his family. I guess I was his twin," she told him. He did his best not to grin. That was perfect.

"Wonderful! Do you know the Potters in your time?"

"Do I- er, yeah, I mean… one was my best friend, but-,"

"Great! I'll speak with Charlus and Dorea while you're in the infirmary healing up and taking the potion," he told her in a tone that invited no argument.

"Healing? Didn't you just heal me?" She asked. He looked at her in sadness, his stomach clenching at what he'd found.

"There are things that… I would assume you would wish a woman to heal, and things that I simply cannot heal," he told her. He saw her stiffen and curl in on herself as she seemed to understand.

"I- there are parts I don't remember clearly," she told him. He nodded gravely and stood, offering his arm to help her. She took it gratefully and they made their way through the large office.

"Either way, I would rather Poppy give you the potion. It will be uncomfortable for you, and she will… set the appropriate glamours if they are needed," Dumbledore explained as they walked through the halls. She was limping still and he let her lean on him slightly to alleviate the pain.

It wouldn't normally have taken long to get to the infirmary – it was a five-minute walk from his office – but they had to dodge students roaming the halls as they pushed their luck with the curfew. It was almost nine pm, and there were still some students scurrying about to get back to their common rooms before detentions could be handed out.

When they reached the infirmary, Dumbledore placed Hermione on the bed and made his way to Poppy's office. He knocked on the door and gave the witch a sad smile when she opened. "Hello, Poppy."

"Headmaster," she nodded with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"There is a young woman here who has… recently seen battle. She is in need of healing and will need to be de-aged by eight years and have some glamours placed on whatever she like," he told her nervously, handing her the paper with her injuries. It had crossed off the ones he'd already healed for her, and the witch gasped in horror at the words.

"I'll do all I can," she promised, pulling her wand out. He stepped out of the way as she scurried over to Hermione to heal her.

"I'll go make my calls," he told the young witch. "I'll come back when I'm done."

"Thank you, Professor," the girl said nervously. "It's… it's good to see you."

He nodded at her and left the room to call Charlus and Dorea. They would need to know everything to take her in, but he knew they would.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Did he already tell you your injuries?" Poppy asked. Hermione shrugged at her.

"He doesn't need to. None of it will shock me."

"Still, you-,"

"And I don't want to know. There are things I do and don't remember, and it's all plenty awful. I don't need more to have nightmares about," she said firmly. Poppy watched her warily but nodded and continued to heal the poor girl.

It all took about a half hour before the woman sat back and wiped the sweat from her brow. The young girl smiled at her kindly as she summoned the potion and sat it on the tray in between them. "You will need to drink all of it to de-age eight years," Poppy informed her.

"Right," the girl scrunched up her nose.

"It tastes like goblin piss," Poppy muttered. The girl's eyes flashed with something before she spoke softly, almost as if speaking to a ghost.

"Have a lot of experience with goblin piss?" She asked. The odd look on her face made the mediwitch ignore the words and pour the potion. She handed the glass over and the girl took it with a grimace but downed it immediately. She blanched at the taste but swallowed.

The effect was almost instantaneous. Her skin shimmered silver and she felt a sickening crunch in her legs as they shrunk. She managed to focus on the constant of pain while it happened, which made it easier to handle. She made no sound as she shrunk down into her eleven-year-old self, and Poppy stared on in wonder.

"Why do I still have my scars?!" She shrieked. Poppy jumped at the noise.

"I- well, if they were inflicted by a dark curse, or by a cursed object-,"

"Of course," the girl sighed. "Of course."

"I can glamour them," the woman offered immediately. The girl smiled up at her sadly.

"That would be lovely. Thank you."

"Of course," Poppy said, setting to work immediately. After a few minutes, the girl frowned.

"My teeth."

"Hm?"

"My teeth are back to what they used to be," she explained.

"Would you like me to glamour them as well?"

"Maybe you could just fix them?" She wondered. The witch nodded and set to work, speaking as she did.

"I'll be giving you potions for the pain. Long exposure to the _Cruciatus_ is hard to heal. Only persistence and patience can help you fully recover."

"I thought that you weren't supposed to take pain potion more than five times a week," Hermione frowned nervously. She'd been in constant pain since Malfoy Manor but hadn't been able to do much for it.

"You're not," the woman agreed. "There are special potions for this. A pain reliever, a muscle relaxer, and I'll be supplying you with a good amount of calming draught as well."

"I didn't… I didn't know," Hermione breathed as Madame Pomfrey summoned the potions and dropped them into a small box that was charmed to be bigger on the inside.

"But you have to take all of the potions exactly when you're meant to," Madame Pomfrey insisted. "Or your shaking and pain will return, and it'll take a couple of doses to get rid of them again."

"How long do I have to take it for?"

The woman gave her a sympathetic smile that she absolutely hated. "At least two years, my dear. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"How do you always find yourself in these situations?" Dorea laughed when Dumbledore finished his story. The man offered her a dry smile.

"That is the question."

"So, you want us to take her in?" Charlus asked though he knew the answer.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "She said that she was referred to as James's twin, Alexia."

"I always wanted a little girl," Dorea informed them as if the decision was made. One pointed look at Charlus and Dumbledore realized that it was.

"We'll take good care of her," Charlus promised.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said, relieved. "Now, I should make my way back to check on her. Shall I bring her over once she's all healed and glamoured?"

"That sounds perfect," Dorea told him. "We'll fill James in while you're gone."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore smiled as he stood. "We'll see you in a bit."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"James," Charlus called. A few moments later, his son stomped down the stairs and through the manor, arriving in the sitting room. He grinned at his parents as he sat between them. Dorea looked down at him seriously and he gulped, going through a list of his recent actions and wondering what she could've found out about.

"You're not in trouble," she rolled her eyes. "But we've got some important news."

"You're going to have a sister," Charlus blurted. Dorea slapped his arm as James looked at his parents in horror for a moment before staring at his mother's stomach in disgust.

"You-you're… mum, ew!"

"Hm?" She snorted at him, laughter in her eyes. "No, I'm not pregnant."

"What?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

"We're… there's a girl in danger and in need of a home," Charlus told him. "She's going to be introduced to the world as your twin sister. She's your age."

"Really?" James grinned, excited now. He'd always wanted a sibling, but he'd never gotten one. Now he would have a twin.

"Yes," Dorea smiled kindly. "Her name is Alexia."

"Cool," the boy commented happily, nearly bouncing on his feet in excitement.

"James, there's something you need to understand," Charlus said seriously. "She's been hurt very badly. She was healed, but she might not be healed inside. She's going to need patience and kindness and love. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"This is serious, James," Charlus said. "She could be very sad, and she probably will be, but she's also probably very defensive. She needs someone to take care of her if she's not okay. Can you do that?"

"Yes," James said, immediately feeling protective of her. If she couldn't take care of herself, he would do it.

"It's your job to take care of her, especially while you're both at Hogwarts," his mother told him. He nodded seriously, beginning to understand what they were saying.

"I'll take care of her," he swore. "I promise I'll always take care of her."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"You… want my wand?" She asked, gripping the object in question tightly, as if ready to fight. It was an odd look on a kid, which only frustrated her further.

"Yes," Dumbledore told her sadly. "This is the wand of Hermione Granger."

"And?"

"You are Alexia Potter now," he reminded her. She blinked.

"Oh."

"Come," he said softly, leading her toward the floo after taking the wand from her. She pushed her hair – now black and long, having been given a permanent potion to change it – behind her ears as she followed him. He opened the floo and ushered her in, giving her the address. She grabbed the powder and threw it down, yelling "Potter Manor!"

She steadied herself before she could fall, still feeling awkward in her eleven-year-old frame. She dusted off the robes she'd been given by Poppy and looked around. The room was large. It had multiple chairs scattered about and there was a coffee table in the center of the room. She stepped out of the fireplace and froze as she heard someone running toward the room. She reached for her wand and cursed when she couldn't find it.

"Mum doesn't like swearing," a voice called, amused. She huffed indignantly.

"I didn't mean to," she told him, looking up, her breath catching at the sight. She was shocked to find a young Harry standing in front of her. She bit her lip. No, not Harry. Just… Harry's dead father. He smirked at her and walked over, looking her up and down.

"You do look a lot like me," he offered. She raised an eyebrow.

"Magic," she explained, earning an amused snort.

"I'm James," he told her.

"I know."

"You're Alexia."

"Apparently," she muttered.

"We're twins," he tried. She looked up at him again.

"So I've heard."

Before either could say any more, the fireplace roared to life and James pulled her away as the green flames jumped up. She did her best not to flinch at the contact, but he seemed to notice because he immediately let go as soon as she was out of the way.

"Ah, hello Mister Potter!" Dumbledore grinned. "I see you've met your new sister."

"She swore," he laughed. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Hermione – no, Alexia – and she just shrugged at him.

"There you are!" Dorea called, sweeping into the room. Alexia's breath caught at the sight of the Lady of the House. She couldn't tell what it was, but something about the woman nagged at her heart, soul, and magic. She realized she'd felt the same with James, but had been distracted by thinking he was Harry. "I wasn't sure when you'd be back."

Alexia figured she'd actually wanted the new siblings to have a moment together, but said nothing. Dumbledore simply continued to grin. "She's all fixed up now. I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got some things to attend to if we want the new Miss Potter to be officially recognized in the community."

"Thank you, Albus," Dorea said as the man nodded, winked at Alexia, and left through the floo again. Alexia felt herself breathe out nervously. She instinctively trusted the Potters. She wanted to attribute that to Harry being a brother to her, but this felt… different.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Dorea said sweetly. "I'm Dorea, but you may want to just call me mum."

"I- oh," her chest tightened painfully as she suddenly remembered her own parents, the Grangers. She'd not been on good terms with them for a while because of her insistence on going back to the wizarding world, even under threat of war, but they were her family and she loved them. She wondered if they were happy in Australia. "I'm… Alexia."

"We know," James told her. She was shocked by how gentle he was being compared to when he walked in. "Wanna go meet Dad, or do you wanna eat?"

"I- um, I'd like to meet him. I'm not hungry," she added. Dorea gave her a kind smile and turned on her heel, walking from the room. She looked at James with wide eyes but he just offered her his arm. She took it warily and they walked down the hall – a very long hall, at that – and into Charlus's study.

The man smiled at her and she felt that same breathtaking feeling flutter around in her heart and magic and her soul. It was stronger this time, and she realized that it was because they were all in the same room. She felt her breathing quicken as she looked around at them and knew a panic attack was coming, but James squeezed her arm gently before it hit and she was pulled back to reality.

"I'm so glad to meet you," Charlus told her, standing and walking to her. She let him give her a gentle hug before he pulled back. "I think you'll be quite a blessing to us."

She paused in confusion. "You… you do?"

"Yes," Dorea breathed. The woman didn't offer any explanation, so Hermione – no, Alexia – just nodded shortly before a thought popped into her head and she put a hand over her forearm, a habit she imagined would take a while to get rid of.

"I'm a mu- a muggleborn," she informed them. "I don't know nearly as much about Pureblood society as I'd like."

"Well, that's fine. We'll teach you what you need to know before fall, but we don't practice most of it," Charlus informed her.

"Okay," she gave a sigh of relief.

"Now, there will be plenty of time to get to know each other tomorrow, but you look exhausted," Dorea said. Alexia blushed as she realized it was probably true. She'd spent two days fighting for her life and the lives of everyone she loved, and then was forced into… whatever this was. She was bone tired, and she would probably do anything for some sleep. "James, why don't you show her to her room?"

"Sure!" The boy said excitedly. She smiled softly at him and said goodnight to her new parents. James took her arm again and led her out of the study. They walked in silence until James seemed to burst with excitement.

"Your room is right across the hall from mine," he told her happily.

"That's nice," she said absently, trying to keep track of where they were going in her head.

"I'm gonna call you Lex," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I hate nicknames."

"That's too bad," he laughed.

"Fine, but only if I get to call you Jamie," she retorted. He frowned and thought about it before shrugging.

"That's fine. Mum and Dad only call me James or sometimes monkey."

"Monkey?" Alexia laughed. He stuck his tongue out at her and changed the subject.

"We've got five months to get to know each other," he commented. "And then it's Hogwarts."

"Oh," her eyes widened as it really sunk in that she was going to have to go back. She'd have to see where Lavender had her throat torn out, or where Fred had been crushed by a wall. She'd have to walk past the room where she'd fought Bellatrix and not throw up, and she would have to see Myrtle's bathroom and not cringe at the memory of not only killing a Horcrux but of the Basilisk, which was technically still alive right then. She would have to walk in the Great Hall where she had seen the people she'd come to know and love lying dead, unmoving, their blood soaking into the stone beneath them. She would have to walk on the grounds where her friends fell in front of her. She would have to walk by the place that Snape had nearly died. She would have to pass the clearing in the woods where Harry had died and stand in the courtyard where his body had been held by Hagrid. She'd have to remember Harry. She'd have to remember them all. She would remember George, who had lost his precious twin brother. She would remember Harry, who had nearly lost Remus in that battle, the last connection he had to his father, the man… no, the boy she was walking with at that moment, and she wasn't sure she could do it. Too much had happened there. Too many had died.

She wasn't sure she could do it.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was a truly terrifying moment when Alexia had begun shaking next to him. He'd turned to ask if she was alright, and she had begun crying. He tried to comfort her and ask her what was wrong, but she couldn't seem to see or hear him. He was scared and worried, so he did what any rational wizard would do.

He called for his mum.

Dorea had made it to them in a flash and had taken the sobbing girl into her arms and moved into her new bedroom. She left the door open, which James took as an invitation in, and moved to set her on the bed. It had taken a long time to calm her down, and by the time James's new twin had calmed, she looked every bit as broken as his parents had warned him she might be.

Dorea had left him with the orders to spend the night in his sister's room, but he'd planned on sneaking in after his mother had left, anyway. As soon as Dorea closed the door, Alexia glanced at him sadly, and he felt his heart constrict. It was his fault she'd freaked out, he knew that much.

"Don't be ridiculous," she muttered. He blinked at her.

"What?"

"It's not your fault," she explained with a sigh. "Jamie, do you know what PTSD is?"

"No," he replied, frowning. She leaned back in the large bed, throwing the covers over her small self. He hesitated but crawled in next to her, and she immediately rested her head on his shoulder.

"It is post-traumatic stress disorder," she told him. "It means that someone experiences something traumatic and the brain is… I guess damaged by the trauma. Say your friends are killed in front of you. That could cause PTSD."

"That's horrible," he said with wide eyes. She nodded gravely.

"I… saw some really bad stuff. Things that kids should never see."

"Like your friend being killed in front of you?"

"And more," she agreed. "Anyway, your brain remembers this trauma, and it sets certain triggers to avoid encountering said trauma again."

"I don't understand."

"Well, say you saw your friend die in Hogwarts," she offered with an eye roll that only confused him more. "A mention of Hogwarts or being there could set you off. Your brain would be warning you that there is danger where there is none, just because it recognized something."

"Okay," James said slowly. It was beginning to make sense. "So something… triggered you, and that's why that happened?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she shrugged. "I already- oh Merlin…"

"What?"

"I just… I have these nightmares when I sleep…," she winced and he frowned. "That's another part of PTSD. Sometimes you… relive it in your dreams."

"Well, I'm here," James said firmly. "So tell your brain I'll protect you."

"That's not how-,"

"Always protect you," he interrupted, meeting her eyes. She closed her mouth and nodded. He seemed so sure that she couldn't help but believe him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo 


	2. No Hope, No Fear

**Chapter 2  
**  
 _I am cold, can you hear_

 _I will fly, with no hope, no fear_

 _And the ground taunts my wings_

 _Plummet as I sing, plummet as I sing._

 **July 20th, 1971**

Alexia had been at the Potters for almost two months. It was a very quick two months in which she realized quite a few things, one of the most important being that James and Harry really were a lot alike in much more than looks, and she already loved him. They'd been attached at the hip since that first night, and he'd refused to sleep anywhere but in her room. Dorea and Charlus had reluctantly agreed, knowing that they couldn't keep it up at school.

Alexia had fallen into an easy routine of playing with James, gardening with Charlus, and browsing the library with Dorea. Her parents knew where she was really from and how old she really was, but they refused to treat her differently from James, which she was grateful for.

They'd had a family outing a week after she arrived. They'd gone to Diagon Alley to get her a new wardrobe and familiarize her with the area and the people. It had been lovely, and she'd had a wonderful time exploring in the different era. She was, however, encountering a large problem.

It was mid-June when James first asked her if she wanted to fly. She turned him down, instead deciding to read a fascinating book on House Elves that Dorea had left out for her when Alexia had told the woman about S.P.E.W., something which she was now ashamed of, after learning how House Elf magic worked.

James asked again and again until, on the last day of June, Alexia was finally truly annoyed with him. He'd pestered her all morning and she managed to ignore him and escape to the solitude of the pond in the gardens. She had a book on pureblood etiquette in her lap when she heard a noise. Her head shot up and she stood defensively against a tree. Dumbledore had taken her wand, but she still knew a decent amount of wandless magic, and she could even do most of it silently. So, when James jumped out of the bush with a weird ball in his hand, that she would later remember was a quaffle, she cast first and asked questions later.

She hit him with a simple stunner, but it was strong. When she saw it was him, she shrieked and scurried over. She dropped to her knees and patted his cheek gently, casting a quiet " _finite incantatem_ " as she did so. It took him a minute before he woke and frowned at her.

"Lex?" He asked, confused. She sighed in relief and hugged him tightly. It was just a stunner, but she felt horrible.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie," she gushed. "It was an accident. I didn't see it was you, and I've been so jittery lately…"

"It's okay," he hugged her back, though he was still confused. "Er- what did you do?"

"What did- oh."

"Lex?"

"I'll fly as long as you don't tell," she promised. His eyes lit up and every thought of what had happened slipped away.

"Deal!" He told her, standing up quickly. She pulled herself up after him and felt fear curl in her stomach.

"Jamie?" She called. He turned back to her with a questioning look on his face. "I'm scared of heights."

"Oh." He looked defeated but shrugged. "Then I'll teach you, and we won't go more than a couple of feet up to start."

"Thanks," she sighed in relief. They made their way to the clearing near the house and he got on the broom. She got on hesitantly, but she trusted him. He kicked his feet off the ground and she squealed as the broom rose a little. She clung to her brother tightly as he flew around carefully maneuvered them, explaining to her what he was doing and how, and telling her the reasons why it was safe. She frowned at him after fifteen minutes of him waxing on about flying.

"My best friend nearly died multiple times by falling off a broom, and he's the best flier I've met."

"You wound me, sister," James teased before answering her. "There are multiple reasons that someone could fall off. I'd say someone was cursing him-,"

"Twice," she admitted.

"-he has bad luck-,"

"Very bad."

"-or he's not as good of a flier as you think he is," James smirked, and Alexia hit his shoulder.

"He's a fine flier," she denied. "But I guess you're right. He's never had good luck. But still… it's a little scary after seeing how hurt someone can get."

"But Lex, if you're careful and safe, there's very little chance you'll get hurt," he told her stubbornly as he set them on the ground. She jumped off the broom and eyed it suspiciously.

"I know what you're about to ask me," she sighed.

"I'll be careful," he promised. She huffed.

"That's what they all say."

"I mean it!" James denied. "I won't let you get hurt, Lexi."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "Fine-," James let out a whoop and she rolled her eyes. "but only when mum or dad are home, and only if you promise to let me teach you how to land from a fall properly."

"You know how to do that?" He asked, intrigued. She shrugged. She'd taken self-defense classes since she was five, and she'd only taken more when she entered the wizarding world. She knew how to defend herself, but it also came in handy with things like falling.

"I know a lot of things," was all she said.

"You're scary," he laughed. "As scary as mum."

"Don't let her hear you say that," Alexia grinned when James shuddered at the thought. "Come on, let's go in. It's hot out here."

James offered his arm and she took it. He escorted her into the house and they spent the rest of the day hiding from their parents in a magical fort in one of the guest rooms, a place they'd built when Alexia was overwhelmed and wanted a hideout. There was a password to get in, and they were the only ones who knew it. James muttered "sugar quills" – his idea upon finding out that they were her favorite – and ducked inside. She followed him in and zipped up the blanket on the outside, locking them in.

Eventually, the twins fell asleep in there, cuddled up and tucked away from the world.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **August 1st, 1971**

"James Charlus Potter!" Dorea called up the stairs impatiently. Alexia giggled quietly along with Charlus as the woman tapped her foot.

"Want me to get him?" Alexia asked.

"No, Lexi, I'd like to know how much of our time he's going to waste on his own," Dorea told her. She suppressed more giggles at how desperately in trouble James was, and grinned as he stomped down the stairs, looking confused and flustered. He was pulling on his outer robes as he reached the bottom of the steps and noticed her look.

"Sorry, Mum," he mumbled. She pinned him with a glare and he shrugged. "Lexi never woke me up."

"I did too!" Alexia denied angrily. "Besides, you woke up on your own before I got here. Don't blame me for your laziness."

"Children," Charlus laughed. "It's fine. We're all awake now. Ready to go?" They both nodded and Alexia grabbed Charlus's arm while James grabbed Dorea's, sticking his tongue out at his sister. She screwed up her nose and ignored him as Charlus twisted his foot. She felt herself being pulled through a tube and spat out in Diagon Alley and pushed down the anxiety that tried to claw its way out. She must've done a bad job, though, because James made his way over immediately and held his arm out. She grabbed it thankfully and leaned against her twin, relaxing as they walked through the alley together.

"They look so sweet," Dorea whispered to Charlus with a loving smile. "They look like-,"

"Like twins," he finished for her. She nodded happily and stopped her children to pin them each with a hard look so they knew she was serious.

"You two can explore together while we go get some things," she told them. The twins shared a look that she couldn't decipher – something that was driving her crazy, since it happened more and more lately – and nodded together. "Be good," she warned them. To her surprise, it was Alexia who chuckled, but the girl just nodded and gave her a mock salute. She sighed and took her husband's arm, pulling him away and praying to Morgana that her children didn't destroy the Alley.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Jamie," Alexia whined. "I told you before, I don't want my own broom yet."

"But they've got a new one!" He argued. She gave him the same exact look their mother had given him when he'd run down the stairs late, and he shivered with slight fear. "Fine."

"I wanna check out the books," she announced. She wanted to see what priceless first additions and possibly even rare books she could find. "C'mon."

"Lex, I don't wanna," he huffed.

"Fine," she narrowed her eyes. "I'll be right next door. Use your coin if you need me." She had given James one of the many extra DA Galleons she'd had in her beaded bag, and they used the coins to communicated when separated. Some would call constant communication separation anxiety and codependency, but Alexia just called it being a twin… which was weird, since they weren't twins by blood. Although… she shook her head. She'd ask Dorea about bonds later.

"Be careful," her brother warned her seriously. "If you can't get to the coin-,"

"Scream," she finished for him, rolling her eyes. "I know. I will."

"I'll come to get you in ten minutes," he promised. She nodded and kissed his cheek before walking out of the Quidditch shop. The bookstore was right next door and she walked into the empty place, eyes greedily scanning the shelves. It was almost an entirely different inventory than in her time, and she wanted to read it all. She made her way to find books on animagi training first – she wanted to buy them before the Marauders did and hopefully become an animagi quickly. The books were simple to find and she slipped them into the charmed shopping basket and next found the potions books. She wanted to do her best to learn Potions this time, in a place taught by someone that didn't despise her because of her House.

The thought passed through her mind just as her eyes fell upon a boy in dark blue robes standing at the other end of the aisle. He had long, black hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and she gasped, realizing who it was. She picked out her books and went to the register, shaking slightly. She had no idea what to do.

"Madame May's Guide to Herbolic Potion Making?" The owner asked with a raised eyebrow as he bagged Alexia's books. She grinned up at him.

"I've heard it's a fascinating read," she explained. The man looked at her in wonder but said nothing else except to request two galleons. She passed them over and made her way out quickly. She was halfway back to the Quidditch store when someone tapped her shoulder. She took a very short moment to calm herself out of hexing whoever it was and turned to see Severus Snape looking at her curiously. The sight of a young Snape made her slightly uncomfortable, but she offered a smile. "Yes?"

"I- Well, I don't mean to be rude, it's just- um-,"

"Do you like potions?" She asked, trying to help the poor boy. He smiled at her – smiled! – and nodded happily.

"It's very interesting. I've always loved playing with potions, the ones Mum lets me brew anyway, and making them into new, different things."

"I've not always had good luck with potions," Alexia admitted with a sad sigh. "But they've always amazed me. I wish I could get better."

"Will you be going to Hogwarts?" He asked her hopefully. She grinned at him, a Slytherin-like smugness filling her eyes.

"Yes, I will. This is to be my first year."

"Mine too," Snape told her excitedly. "Maybe we can study together?"

"I'd love that!" She laughed as a blush crept up her cheeks. "Sorry. I'm Alexia Potter, but you can call me Lexi or Alex."

"I'm Severus Snape, but my friends call me Sev," he replied, offering a hand. She went to shake it but was interrupted as a woman appeared behind her new friend, looking scandalized. The woman pulled Severus back against her and he winced.

"Severus!" The woman scolded. "We do not speak with such… filth."

"Excuse me?" Alexia asked as her arm fell to her side. She stared coldly at the woman, though she made sure to offer a quick wink to Severus.

"Your family are blood traitors!" The woman accused. Alexia reeled in shock. She was a pureblood in society's eyes and… she knew that being a blood traitor was apparently bad in society, but to be reacted to in nearly the same way that she was when she was a mudblood… it was shocking.

"Damn right," Alexia said with an eye roll. "I'd much rather be a blood traitor than a prejudiced toad like you."

"Well, I never!" The woman stared at her in anger and pushed her son away and brushed by, knocking Alexia down in the process. The girl controlled her fall and all she got were some stinging hands. She flinched as someone touched her back and reminded herself that Snape had told her he would try and help her up. The boy, however, seemed to understand that touching her was making things worse, because he pulled away, looking at his hands in silent shock.

"Lex!" A voice called. She looked up to see James running out of the shop, looking worried. She winced, knowing what was about to happen. He pulled her to her feet and grabbed her face in his hands, looking her over. She allowed him to assure himself that she was alright before she turned to Severus, but James was already ahead of her. "You did this!"

"No," she told him loudly. "He did-,"

"Why did you?" James asked. Severus looked between the two of them, stunned.

"Jamie, he was only helping-,"

"That's not what I saw! He touched you and you winced!"

"I wince when everyone touches me!" Alexia denied.

"Not when I do!" James yelled back.

"Because you're… you're my twin! You're different! You're just Jamie!"

"I'm going to… go," Severus offered. "I'll see you at school." Before Alexia could call him back, he'd already slipped into the crowd. She spun on her heel to glare at James, but he glared right back.

"I can't believe you," she huffed, snatching her hands away from him and stomping off. He followed her, but he already knew this was going to be bad.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **August 13th, 1972**

"You know Lexi is… different," Charlus said. James frowned at his father and nodded quietly. "She knows more than she should at your age and does or says things that sometimes don't make sense."

"Yeah," James sighed. He'd gotten used to the way she was, but sometimes he did ponder what was going on inside her head.

"There are some people that might not like her because of that," Charlus said carefully. "They might make fun of her or, Merlin forbid, hurt her."

"Why?" James asked, alarmed.

"Because she's different," his father said sadly. "It's called bullying, son."

"That's stupid."

"It is."

"I won't let it happen," James promised. Charlus smiled softly.

"I'm glad. She's still healing, and the kind of healing that she's doing… it can take a lifetime. We need to be-,"

"Patient, kind, caring, loving," James said proudly. He'd made sure to be all of those things, and he knew he was doing a good job.

"Exactly. You'll take care of our girl?"

"I'll take care of her," James promised again. "I'll always take care of her."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **September 1st, 1971**

"This is repetitive, Mum," Alexia whined. She was finishing her final etiquette lesson of the summer, and Dorea had just made her review everything she knew. She was now a finely polished pureblood princess, according to her mother.

"Just answer the question."

"Fine," she huffed. "If a pureblood man that is betrothed to another approaches me alone, I will excuse myself and inform his betrothed and the Lord of his House."

"Unless?"

"Unless he is an enemy of the House, in which case I will excuse myself and spread rumors," Alexia grinned evilly. The last bit had been an add-on by Dorea, and she was glad for it.

"Good!" Dorea told her. She waved her wand, sending the book into Alexia's trunk and closing it. "Are you ready to go?"

"No," Alexia pouted.

"I know it'll be hard," Dorea told her gently, pulling her into a loving hug. "But you know you must go. There is no way you'll ever get over this otherwise."

"I know, it's just… I'm going to see people that I watched die," she looked up at her mother with sad eyes. "I'm going to make friends with people I know to be dead. Some that I knew in the future."

"So you will become friends and give them the joy of knowing you," her mother told her. She was quiet for a few minutes before nodding.

"We'll be bringing home Sirius Black for Christmas if that's alright."

"Sirius- the Black heir?" Dorea asked in surprise. Alexia nodded sadly.

"Walburga is a bitch," was all she said, but Dorea understood, having met her niece a few times before.

"I see."

"We're going to be late," Alexia sighed.

"And then your father and brother will never stop making fun of us."

"Let's go," she said, groaning at the thought.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was busier than Alexia had ever seen it. It was bursting to the seams with people, and she wondered quietly if it had been enlarged. She shook off the irrelevant thought and clung to her mother and Jamie as the loud noises and bustling people assaulted her senses. She threw a panicked look at her mother who picked up the pace. Charlus helped them place their luggage on the train and then they left to say goodbye.

Alexia threw herself at Charlus while James hugged Dorea. He wrapped his arms around her adoringly and held her tight. "I love you, Princess."

"I love you, too, Daddy," she muttered into his robes. He kissed the top of her head and traded her for James, and she fell into Dorea's loving embrace. The witch stroked her hair and hummed quietly to calm the younger girl. Alexia looked up at her mum with tears prickling at her eyes.

"I'll write," Alexia promised.

"I know you will," Dorea laughed. "It's your brother that I worry about."

"I'll make him write," the girl rolled her eyes fondly.

"We'll see you at Christmas," her mum promised. She nodded curtly and pulled out of the hug to link arms with James, who was waiting as patiently as an excited eleven-year-old boy could be.

"We love you," she told them again.

"We love you, too," their parents told them together. Alexia and James shared a look and climbed into the train together, carefully not looking back.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

James was not surprised when his sister had clung to his side, shaking, and stayed there up until she'd been forcibly removed by her bladder. He'd offered to escort her and was relieved at the horrified look on her face. She tilted her chin up and left the compartment, though he could see her wand poking into her hand.

Not three minutes after Alexia had left did a knock sound on the door. He looked up warily and waved the person in. A boy in disgustingly green robes walked in. He had obsidian black hair that was past his ears and… and the same silver eyes as his mother.

"I got booted out of my compartment by some disgusting Slytherins," the boy said, huffing indignantly. James raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'd have guessed you were Slytherin by your robes."

"No," the boy blanched at the thought. "I hope not."

"Me too. I'm gonna be a Gryffindor," James grinned proudly.

"I hope I'm a Gryffindor," the boy sounded as if it were a fanciful dream.

"What's your name?"

"Sirius Black," he said, and James's eyes widened at the words. He'd heard Lexi mention him in passing, and he'd gotten the feeling she hadn't meant to.

"James Potter," he said, offering his hand. His sister had seemed fond of him, so he might as well be nice. Sirius took it and glanced at the seat across from him. James nodded. Lexi would want to sit next to him anyway.

"Jamie, I got you a- oh," she gasped as she opened the door and her eyes fell upon Sirius. James could see multiple emotions flash across her face. Guilt, grief, love, but she seemed to settle on a forced curiosity. "Hello."

"Hello," Sirius smiled and looked between the two, obviously noticing the similarities. "I'm Sirius."

"I- I'm- um-,"

"This is Alexia Potter, my twin sister," James supplied, pulling her next to him. She grabbed his hand and gripped it tight – tighter than he thought was healthy – but she smiled at Sirius, and it seemed genuine.

"You can call me Lexi… or Alex, whatever's fine," she told him. Sirius watched her closely for a long moment before smirking.

"Alright… Kitten," he muttered. Her eyes widened and James gasped as he felt a pang of pain flash through him and gazed at Lex in wonder. Had that been her? He'd heard of twins having that sort of connection, and they had already found they could talk without speaking, but… they weren't really twins. Were they?

"I- I hate nicknames," she told him.

"Good thing it's not a nickname," he retorted. "It's a pet name."

"You're awful," she said with a roll of her eyes. The boy grinned mischievously.

"You flatter me."

They talked quietly for a while after that, but James was distracted by the way Alexia had reacted to Sirius. She'd been so… sad. It was like she wasn't able to see that he was right there, and like she knew him, even though he didn't seem to know her. He was jolted from his thoughts when he heard a shout from outside. Before he could even react, Alexia was on her feet with her wand out. She slid out of the compartment and James followed her, cursing quietly.

What they found was over as soon as Alexia stepped in. She quickly hexed the boys that were towering over a small, scrawny first year, and ushered him into their compartment, closing and locking the door behind her with a quick wave of her wand.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly as she gently and silently – something that Sirius had obviously noticed by the amazed look on his face – healed the bruise the boy had. He looked up at her in wonder and James watched his sister recoil.

"Thank you," the boy said. James felt anger and pure, unadulterated hatred flash through, but it was gone as suddenly as it had come. Alexia offered him the same kind smile that Dorea often offered herself.

"I don't abandon friends in need," she told him seriously. He blinked up at her in shock.

"Friends?"

"Yeah," Sirius shrugged. "We could be a merry little band of misfits."

"I'll be right back," Alexia said dreamily. James tried to follow her but she just shoved him back into the compartment. He frowned, turning to his new friends. Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"Is she always so… odd?" He asked.

"Yeah," James shrugged. "But she's my twin and she's perfect." He said it like he was daring someone to deny it, but no one did. Sirius felt odd around the girl, but he couldn't deny that she was amazing. He definitely wanted to keep her as a friend and in his life. Peter was enamored. She had saved him and offered him friendship and safety, and he'd never had that before. No, neither boy was willing to deny that Alexia Potter was perfect in her own odd way.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"There's room in my compartment," A girl announced as she slid the door open. Remus yelped, jumping, and turned to look at her. He looked around for anyone else she could be talking to and found no one.

"Huh?" He asked smartly.

"I said, there's room in my compartment," she repeated patiently. Remus frowned.

"For…?"

"For you," the girl told him like he was stupid. "We're building a merry little band of misfits, and I want you in there."

"M-me? Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?" He countered.

"Because I am your friend now," she announced. He looked at her uneasily.

"I don't even know your name," he reminded her. Her mouth opened as if she'd forgotten that and a blush crept up her cheeks.

"I'm Alexia Potter, but you can call me Lexi or Alex."

"I- okay."

"And you're Remus Lupin," she told him with a kind smile. The lack of hostility shocked him.

"You- you know who I am?" He asked. She shrugged loosely.

"I know a lot of stuff."

"Oh," he replied.

"So, are you coming?" She asked him.

"Coming where?" He asked.

"To my compartment," she told him with a tired sigh that he realized was not exaggerated. He could feel the tiredness and emotional strain coming off of her in waves and stood immediately. She needed to sit and rest, and she didn't seem to be giving up. "Oh, good."

Remus, wondering what on earth he was doing, followed the girl through the train. She pulled open a door about halfway there and made him go in first, closing and magically locking the door after her. Once that was done, she collapsed onto the bench next to a boy that looked just like her. He raised an eyebrow and Remus watched as they had a creepily silent conversation.

"I'm James Potter," the boy said, offering his hand. Remus's eyes widened as he stared at it, but after a pointed glare from Alexia – Alex, he decided – he shook it, wondering once more how this had happened. "I'm her twin."

"I'm Remus Lupin," he told James quietly. Alex leaned into her twin's side and closed her eyes, and Remus knew from personal experience that she was doing deep breathing, something he used to coach himself out of pain or anxiety. He felt both coming from her and winced.

"Peter Pettigrew," a scrawny boy said. Remus felt rather than saw Alex tense at the name and filed that information away for later. He nodded a hello.

"Sirius Black," another boy, the one he was next to, said with a lopsided grin. "It seems our merry band of misfits is full."

"Your- what? But you've just met me," Remus protested. Sirius laughed.

"We've all just met, except for the Wonder Twins there," the obsidian haired boy informed him. Remus frowned.

"But you three are cousins."

"So?" Sirius asked. James seemed busy helping Alex relax, and Remus was glad he was so protective and caring. She seemed like she needed him. "I'm probably related to half the people on this train. Besides, they're 'blood traitors.'"

"Damn proud of it," Alex sniffed, not looking up. James snorted and muttered something about Diagon Alley, which earned him a slap on the head and she pulled away from him, arms crossed. She looked around the compartment and instead moved next to Sirius, dropping her head on his lap as she laid across the bench and plopped her feet into his own lap. Remus froze for a moment but relaxed quickly. Sirius looked down at her in wonder but began playing with her hair, something that seemed to relax her a great deal.

They were a merry band of misfits, but at least they were merry and at least they were together.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	3. Isle Of Flightless Birds

**Chapter 3**

 _All we are is an isle of flightless birds_

 _We find our own worth in giving birth and stuff_

 _We're lining our homes against winding roads_

 _And we think the going is tough_

 **September 1st, 1971** _  
_  
It had taken Alexia nearly the entire train ride to relax, and that all flew out the door when she saw the castle. She was sandwiched between Sirius and James with Remus in front of them and Peter in the back. It was an oddly protective stance, and it wouldn't go unnoticed.

When they got on the boats, she had been completely calm. In fact, she was still calm as she made her way to the castle and to the doors of the great hall. She was so calm that James was worried. Remus, however, knew that she wasn't actually calm. He only wondered what happened that caused her such stifling terror.

She made her way through the halls and marked in her mind where her friends had died. When she'd come across the spot where Remus had fallen, she grabbed nervously at his hand. Under any other circumstances, he'd have shoved her away, but… she emitted such strong emotions that he was overcome and allowed her to hold onto him. It was that, more than anything, that got her into the Great Hall.

That was where Remus felt her shut down. It was like every emotion had been shut off, and it scared him. He poked James and leaned over. "Something's wrong with Alex."

"There's nothing wrong with her," he denied angrily. Remus resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I mean she's extremely upset," he hissed. James's mouth made an "o" shape and he turned back to his sister, pulling her into his arms. She sagged there, and the three other wizards grouped together to shield them from prying eyes, though Remus stayed back a little, not wanting to touch them.

Alexia was staring painfully at the floor beside the Gryffindor table when she was called to be sorted. She blinked in shock and made her way up to the Hat, and her brother offered her smiles of support. She forced herself to drop her Occlumency shields for the Hat and winced as it was placed on her head.

"Oh, how interesting," it said. "I've already sorted you. But no… I sorted Hermione Granger."

"I am Alexia Potter," she told it. If a hat could roll its eyes, she swore this one just did.

"I suppose. But the things you've seen… oh, that's why you don't… I see why you don't appreciate being here. Do you even belong in this school, then?"

"Yes," she snapped.

"Of course… of course. I wonder… you would make a wonderful Slytherin, you know…"

"I will feed you to the bloody giant squid if you put me anywhere but Gryffindor," she warned. The hat seemed to laugh. "I am not leaving my brother."

"Proof that you would do well in Slytherin… but you're right… your destiny is always in the House of Gryffindor…"

It fell silent for a long moment and Alexia held her breath.

"Gryffindor!" It yelled. She breathed a sigh of relief as it was removed from her head. She shot James a grin and carefully replaced her shields on the way to the Gryffindor table – to her home. She was met with grins and she sat next to Sirius, grabbing his hand for support. It was a gesture that still surprised the boy, even after the train ride, but he squeezed comfortingly as James went up to be sorted. He was quickly and easily sorted into Gryffindor and bounced over to his friends and sister. He plopped himself down on the other side of her and smiled across the table at Peter and Remus, who were talking quietly about something he couldn't hear. He glanced down the table and gasped when his eyes fell upon two matching heads of red hair.

"Fabian and Gideon Prewett," he hissed in Lexi's ear. She gasped quietly as well and her head shot up to scan the table. She found them just as easily – it wasn't hard as there were only a few people between them – but remained silent until the sorting was finished. The young pair of twins didn't even need to say anything after Dumbledore's speech, because the redhead twins had relocated themselves around the black-haired twins, gently shoving a disgruntled Sirius aside.

"We heard,"

"There's a new pair of twins around."

Alexia responded happily, teasing them. "The best twins Gryffindor has seen in a long time, too."

"Excuse us!" The twins gasped in mock horror.

"I'm Gideon," one said after a long moment of an amusing stare down.

"And I'm Fabian," the other told them.

"We're in third year," they said together.

"I wonder," Alexia said with a very Slytherin glint in her eye. "Would you teach us and our friends your ways of pranking?"

"We would be honored,"

"Thrilled,"

"Pleased to teach you and your young friends."

"Wonderful," Alexia said, winking at them. The redheaded twins shared a look as she turned back to her meal and engaged Sirius in conversation, twisting around Fabian to see him. They had an odd feeling that they'd just sealed their fates, and couldn't seem to understand why.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Alexia wanted nothing more than to run through the secret passages she'd nagged Harry for using and find her way to the dorms before anyone else had gotten there, but there was the pesky little question of how she knew such passages. With a resigned sigh, she linked arms with James and Sirius and followed the Gryffindor prefects through the halls. Every once in a while, when she got upset, Remus would move closer and put a hand on her shoulder in support. She made a mental note to begin her Occlumency once more. She couldn't let him always know how she was feeling.

It took about ten agonizing minutes to reach Gryffindor Tower, a place that had been untouched by war. She felt herself relax in the familiar walls and zoned out as they were pointed to their dorms and told them what curfew was. When the bored looking prefect left to find their own friends, Alexia dropped herself onto a couch and pulled James after her. He resumed the position she'd been in with Sirius and Remus, taking up Sirius's spot. Remus sat at the end of the couch and let her rest her feet in his lap. Sirius and Peter sat on the floor facing the couch curiously.

"What?" Alexia asked, not opening her eyes.

"We were just… I dunno," Sirius said. Alexia snorted.

"Very articulate, Sirius."

"What he means," Remus laughed. "is that we're… worried."

"Why?" she frowned. "As you said earlier, we've only just met."

"Maybe," Peter shrugged. "But we're friends, and that's an important thing."

"Yeah, and we wanna know if there's something wrong so we can help." Sirius seemed very uncomfortable, but she deeply appreciated the sentiment.

"Look," Lexi said, rubbing her head gently, "I'm fine. Just… I don't know."

"That was helpful," Sirius snorted. She glared at him and he shut up.

"What I mean is that there are things that I'm not yet comfortable telling you." She looked directly at Remus before staring at Sirius with the same intensity. "Surely you can understand that."

"Of course," Peter supplied. She turned to him with an odd expression. She seemed to be sizing him up, because after a minute, she gave a pleased nod.

"Thanks, Pete," she said gently. He beamed under the appreciation and nodded sweetly.

"Are you Alexia Potter?" A blonde haired girl asked, approaching the group nervously. Lexi raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. "Well, it's just that she's the last girl in our dorm, and we're having a little meeting to get to know one another."

"That sounds lovely," Lexi said, sitting up. Remus ducked to avoid being accidentally kicked, and Sirius snorted at the sight. She turned back to them with a frown. "Behave."

"Lex, come find me if you need?" James murmured nervously. Lexi flashed him a loving smile and promised, and he let her go. She disappeared up the steps to the girl's dorms moments later. James breathed out a nervous sigh and pushed himself against the couch.

"Today has been odd," Sirius commented happily. James followed his sister's example and raised an eyebrow at his new friend. "Well, I met the first cousins I haven't hated… aside from Dromeda and Cissa-,"

"Andromeda and Narcissa?" James asked with a frown. He'd been forced to learn the family history just as any other pureblood would've been. Sirius nodded and continued.

"And made two other friends, and then got sorted into Gryffindor. Mum's going to have a harpy."

"Today's been great," Peter shrugged. "I made friends and was sorted into the house of the brave."

The two looked at Remus and James and the boys shared a look and shrugged. "It was alright," Remus said.

"It was brilliant," James allowed. The boys all agreed and Sirius and Peter stood to head to their dorm. James stood as well, but Remus stopped him, requesting to talk alone. With a sinking feeling, James stayed behind.

"It's about Alex," Remus said. He watched as James tensed and closed off his emotions and hurried to assure him. "Look, I think she's brilliant. I just…" he frowned, trying to figure out how to explain without giving away his secret. "I'm an empath."

"Oh," James said, deflating.

"Yeah."

"So… you… she was…"

"Terrified," the sandy haired boy supplied. "Paranoid, afraid, and multiple emotions I've never even felt before."

"That's why you kept trying to help her?" James asked. Remus nodded sadly.

"I don't know what's happened to her, and I won't ask," the boy promised. "But I understand… I understand that kind of fear. I'll help however I can."

"Thank you," James breathed. Remus offered a kind smile.

"She's my first friend. I won't mess that up."

James grinned widely. "You're hers now. You won't get away that easily."

Remus paled. "What?"

James laughed loudly, wrapping an arm around the other boy's shoulders. "She'll take good care of you if you need it, don't worry. But you're stuck now. You're family."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **September 2nd, 1971**

It had been a shock to meet Lily Evans. She'd been everything she'd expected – smart, kind, passionate, fiery, caring – but she'd also been more. She was ridiculously funny in her own way, and she was quick. Lexi knew immediately why she'd apparently refused James's advances for so long – she was better than her dear twin brother.

Lexi had woken with her first nightmare in weeks at four in the morning. She sighed in defeat and pulled the covers away, setting her feet on the floor. She quickly showered and pulled on jeans and a sweater and then her robes for school. She slipped out of her dorm quietly and padded out of the common room. She wondered quietly where she was going and set to work on her Occlumency shields while she walked.

It was a half hour later when she found herself, anxious and jittery, pacing about the dungeons. She knew in theory that it was a bad idea, but she'd been too tempted by the dark, quiet area. She chewed on her lip as she paced around the large dungeons. It was about a five-minute walk from one end to the other and it was her third time around when she literally ran into someone. She went flying and, not expecting the impact, had fallen hard on her knees.

She scrambled to pick herself up and pulled her wand, turning to face the person with an apology, but she felt her breath leave her when her eyes fell upon a head of platinum hair. The boy was looking at her warily but he offered her a hand and she took it, equally as cautious.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking," she told him. He nodded at her.

"It is fine," he assured her. She had the distinct feeling that, had she not been a pureblood – blood traitor or not – it would not have been fine. "Aren't you a new little lion? What are you doing down here?"

"I- um- I was wandering about and got lost," she lied. He seemed to assume she was just nervous as he accepted it, offering his arm.

"I can escort you to your common room if you would like," he said politely. She accepted, ignoring her mother's words. She took his arm and bit her lip hard as they walked together. After a few long minutes of silence, he spoke. "I am Lucius Malfoy."

"I kn- I mean to say, I am Alexia Potter. It's nice to meet you, Mister Malfoy," she said, recalling as much pureblood bullshit as she could. He flashed her a smile that surprised her. She'd never seen the man do much more than scowl before.

"The pleasure is all mine. May I ask, how did you get lost like that? It is very early."

"I woke early and decided to take a walk," she explained, not exactly lying. "I was lost in thought and found myself distracted enough to get lost."

"Well," he said, looking down at her with a predatory air that made her only slightly uncomfortable. "then I suppose it is lucky I found you and not someone else."

"Oh?"

"Others in my House may not be as… kind as I have been."

"I was nearly sorted into Slytherin," she confessed with an evil grin. "I threatened to feed the Hat to the squid if it separated me from my brother."

"Ah, so you are Slytherin at heart." Lucius laughed sweetly, and Lexi found herself appreciating the sound. She wondered if she could become friends with him and still keep her friends she'd already made.

They arrived at Gryffindor Tower too soon, and Lucius bowed, kissing her knuckles. She smiled kindly and gave him a curtsy. "You may call me Lexi," she told him before sweeping into her common room to face the wrath of an angry and surprisingly awake twin.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"What are you doing here?" Severus asked in surprise. Lucius twirled around and smiled at his young friend.

"I found a wandering Lioness and brought her home," he informed the boy. Severus blinked up at him. Lucius was only one year ahead of him, but he was already tall and intimidating.

"A wandering- who?"

"Alexia Potter," Lucius muttered. Severus's eyebrows rose an amusing amount.

"Really?"

"Yes. She was rather intriguing."

"Intriguing?" Severus asked in shock. Lucius generally found any younger student annoying, and Gryffindors were even worse. He ignored them at best and hexed them at worst.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius asked, echoing Severus's question. The younger boy shrugged and Lucius swore he saw a blush. "Do you have friends here?"

"Two," Severus admitted. He trusted Lucius completely; they were friends. He could tell him.

"Ah. Miss Potter is one, isn't she?" Lucius guessed. He knew he was right by the way Severus twitched at the question. "Well, she is in there. I believe I saw her brother, so I assume they are speaking about her wandering off alone."

"I think I'll wait out here," Severus muttered. "He's an ass to me."

"He seems rather protective of her if she's sneaking out in the early hours of the morning for a walk," Lucius commented idly. Severus shrugged and Lucius smiled at him before quietly making his way back to the dungeons.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Jamie, if you say one more word, I won't talk to you for a week," Lexi swore. James paused in his rant and looked at her. She sounded so serious that he wasn't sure she was bluffing. "Good. Look, I wasn't trying to worry you. I just woke up and went for a walk."

"At four in the morning? Lex, you had a nightmare, didn't you?" He accused. He knew by the defensive look on her face that he was right, so he cut her off before she could yell at him again. "I thought we agreed you would come to me if you had one or needed me."

"I- Look, I don't know. Mum and Dad wouldn't approve of me sneaking into your dorm every time I freak out," she muttered, shrugging slightly.

"I know, but this is all new. Just for the first few weeks, okay? Then only if it's bad," he suggested. She looked at him for a long minute before nodding an agreement. "Thank you. Now stay here while I go get ready, okay?"

"Yes, sir," she said, rolling her eyes at him and giving a mock salute. He stuck his tongue out at her as he turned and ran up the steps into his dorm. Lexi let out a deep breath and dropped herself on a couch, replaying what had happened.

Was Lucius… nice? She wondered how he got mixed up with the Death Eaters and wondered if his father made him join, just like he would do to Draco. Lucius had seemed mostly genuine in his worry for her, so she believed that he didn't want to talk to her for any personal gain.

Her thoughts were cut off by Lily making her way from the girls dorms. Lexi grinned at her and sat up to make room. Lily smiled gratefully and plopped down next to her. "You're awake early."

"I'm a restless sleeper," Lexi told her. "I woke up and went for a walk."

"Find anything interesting?"

"Other than a wandering Slytherin and a scolding from Jamie?" She snorted. "No."

"Why would he scold you for taking a walk?"

"James labours under the delusion that I need protecting." Lexi scoffed at the idea. "So leaving in the early morning to take a walk when no one knows where I am is, to him, reckless and stupid."

"Why would he think you need protecting? You seem like you can handle yourself," Lily told her with a kind smile. Lexi shrugged.

"I imagine Daddy told him to watch over me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate their worry, but…"

"I'd guess that could get a little overwhelming," Lily said quietly. Lexi nodded.

"James and I built a fort in one of the guest rooms for when I got stressed or overwhelmed. We'd hide in it until I relaxed," she told her redheaded friend.

"That sounds fun," Lily commented.

"Lex, I'm ready if you wanna- oh," James stopped when he reached the couch, staring at Lily with his mouth open. Lexi hid a smirk as she watched her brother. "I, um, er-,"

"Lily, this is my brother, James. Jamie, this is Lily. She's my friend."

"Hello," Lily shot him a sweet smile, and Lexi coughed to cover her laugh as James's eyes widened.

"H-hi," he stuttered out.

"What were you saying, Jamie?" Lexi asked, and James turned to her, looking dazed.

"Uh, if you wanted to go for another walk, um-,"

"That sounds wonderful," Lexi said. "Lily, would you like to join us? There's this wonderful passage that could take us to the Great Hall."

"Really?" James asked, eyes lighting up.

"Oh, yes. Wanna see it?"

"Yes!" Her brother exclaimed excitedly. Lily looked nervous but agreed, so the three headed to the portrait. They swung it open, and Lexi and Lily both grinned, seeing Severus waiting for them.

"Sev!" Lexi said, hugging him. His eyes widened at the touch – a drastic change from Diagon Alley – and he patted her back awkwardly.

"You know him?" Lily asked curiously. Lexi pulled away and nodded, ignoring the glare James was giving Severus.

"We met in Diagon Alley," she explained.

"No," James huffed. "He knocked you down. Why are you being nice to him?"

"Because that wasn't him," Lexi said, already getting annoyed. "He was helping me up."

"It was Mother," Severus said bitterly. Lily took his hand gently, offering silent support.

"You let her knock a little girl down?!" James glared.

"Jamie, stop!" Lexi yelled, stepping between James and Severus. "It was an accident."

"How come I don't believe that?"

"Because you're an ass?" She offered. He huffed at her, turning on his heel and stalking back into the common room. Lexi let out a shaky breath when he was gone and leaned against the wall. She looked at her new friends and offered a sad smile. "Like I said… he's protective."

"He's ridiculous," Lily decided. Lexi shrugged but said nothing.

"Are you alright?" Severus asked quietly. "I ran into Lucius Malfoy and he said he walked you back here from the dungeons."

"I thought you said you found a passage?" Lily asked with a frown. Lexi winced at being caught.

"I never said when I found the passage," she told her friend before turning to Severus. "I'm fine. He was a perfect gentleman. I quite literally ran into him in the dungeons and he escorted me back to avoid meeting any unsavory characters."

"That was… kind."

"Yes," Lexi smiled, noting how he seemed just as surprised as she had been.

"Do you wanna… go to the Great Hall?" Lily asked uncertainly. Lexi nodded with wide eyes.

"There's no way I'm going back in there while Jamie has his head up his ass."

"You should stop swearing," the redhead scolded. Lexi smirked. Lily sounded exactly like she used to.

"Life is too short to care what sort of language you're using amongst friends… or really at all, for that matter."

"You're an odd girl, Alexia Potter," Severus muttered, watching her curiously. She smirked at him.

"So I've heard."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Where's your sister?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. James scowled at him.

"Off with a snake," he said. Sirius blinked at him.

"I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say she was with the enemy."

"Enemy?" Remus snorted. "Sirius, it's just a Slytherin."

"Yes. The enemy."

"You're dramatic," the boy sighed.

"She walked off with a boy that pushed her down in Diagon Alley!" James exclaimed before frowning. "Er- or his mother did. But he let her."

"Seriously?" Peter frowned. "Are you sure he let her?"

"Well, it happened," James huffed.

"And so you let her wander off with him?" Sirius frowned. "Didn't you just come stomping up here complaining that she took a walk at ungodly hours of the morning?"

"Oh."

"Shall we go find her?" Remus asked with a sigh. James nodded nervously and the other boys quickly finished getting their things together and poured out of the common room, racing down to the Great Hall. They made their way over to the Gryffindor table, where Lexi was sitting with Lily, talking excitedly about DADA.

"Lex?" James said as he caught his breath. She ignored him and leaned closer to Lily, continuing to talk. Sirius bit his lip and slid between the siblings.

"Hey, Lexi," he said softly. She turned and smiled at him.

"Hey, Sirius. Have a good night?"

"Could've been better. Some prat woke me up at five in the morning, yelling about some damsel in distress." Sirius winked at her. "I have a feeling she was neither a damsel nor in distress."

"You're right about that," she huffed. "I'm sorry he woke you up."

"It's alright, Kitten. You're okay?" He asked. She nodded honestly and he grinned at her. "Wonderful. Mind if we join you? I think your brother wants to apologize for being a prat."

"I- oh," James blinked as Lexi turned to him expectantly and realized that Sirius was helping him. "Yeah, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to, uh-,"

"Be an overprotective idiot?" His sister suggested. He scrunched up his nose but nodded.

"Yeah, that."

"You're forgiven," she said. He breathed out a sigh of relief and sat next to her as she returned to her conversation with Lily. He nodded at the toast on the table and she smiled back, so he grabbed some and began to fix her breakfast, ignoring the sniggering boys behind him.

"She's got you wrapped around her finger, mate," Sirius laughed. James shrugged easily.

"She's my sister," he offered. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I don't dote on my brother like you dote on her."

"Your brother isn't your twin, now is he?" James sniffed, beginning to feel slightly offended. "It's just how we are, okay?"

"He didn't mean anything by it," Remus sighed. "It was a bad attempt at a joke."

"It was a fine attempt!" Sirius denied.

"Really?" Peter snorted. "Is that why you managed to offend him?"

"Hey," two voices called, swooping down in front of James and Alexia. Lexi paused her conversation with Lily again and turned to the twins with a raised eyebrow.

"We were thinking we could start our little lessons after classes today," one of them – Fabian, Lexi thought – said.

"That sounds great," she told them. They grinned happily and exchanged a few more words before walking off. Lily frowned at her new friend.

"Lessons?"

"Yeah," Lexi coughed to cover a laugh. "Just some general instructions on… stuff."

"Stuff," Lily repeated suspiciously.

"Yep," Alexia grinned and took a bite of her toast, letting the subject drift off.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The rest of the day had been quick. Alexia was generally bored in class, but she always found a way to distract herself. Eventually, she settled on simply backing up her Occlumency shields. She appreciated Dumbledore placing her with the Potters, but she didn't trust him. He'd done too much in the past – or future – to let her guard down.

When classes let out, Alexia led her brother and the other Marauders through another secret passage from the dungeons all the way back to the Great Hall, where they met the Prewett twins. The brothers stared at them suspiciously.

"Classes let out minutes ago," Fabian said.

"How did you get here from the dungeons so quickly?" Gideon questioned.

"Lexi knows lots of passageways," Sirius said, rocking on the balls of his feet. Lexi elbowed him in the gut and smiled at the twins as they frowned at her.

"How?" They asked together. She raised an eyebrow and took a step closer so she was carefully not invading their personal space, but close enough to make them slightly uncomfortable.

"You'll find that I may know things I shouldn't or can do things that don't make sense. You'll get used to it," she told them. She'd made the decision the night before to just let herself seem weird, even the way Luna was.

"It's best not to question it," James laughed.

"Anyway," the brothers drawled.

"We were thinking-,"

"You should start with a regular disillusionment charm."

"Why?" Lexi asked. "It's easy enough to notice, if you know what to look for."

"It's good then," Gideon began.

"That most people don't know what to look for," Fabian finished.

"I do," the girl muttered with a frown. "So shouldn't they also learn how to notice them?"

"They?" Gideon asked. "Aren't you participating?"

"Oh, I already know disillusionment."

"Wait, isn't that a N.E.W.T. spell?" Remus asked, frowning at her. She shrugged uncomfortably, remembering the year she never managed to take.

"I guess so."

"Huh," Fabian said, looking her over again.

"Well, how do you two know it?" Alexia asked them. They shared a look and shrugged.

"Our dad was an Auror. He taught us," Gideon explained. She nodded a little and they set to work quickly. It was a long lesson, mostly consisting of theory. The boys were amazed and had fun, and Alexia enjoyed helping them. The look on their faces when they watched her disappear was worth every minute of the very boring day.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **September 10th, 1971**

Alexia twisted in her bed, gasping for air as she woke from a particularly bad nightmare. She took a few agonizing moments to sort out reality – she swore she could still feel Bellatrix breathing in her face and carving into her skin. When she could see clearly, she stumbled out of bed and made her way out of the dorms and then out of the common room. She didn't care what James thought. She needed out of there.

It was easy to slip past the prefects and wander around. She figured it was no later than two in the morning. She found herself standing in front of the wall that fell on Fred and blinked back tears. She'd had a crush on him for a long time. He was so kind to her and so obviously brilliant. She was devastated by his death.

Sucking in an agonizingly sharp breath, Alexia forced herself away from the wall. She moved through the corridor where she found Lavender Brown being mauled by Greyback. She blanched as the horrifying sight flashed through her mind, fresh horror filling her. She stumbled away and walked numbly into the Great Hall.

A general feeling of severe loss and depression filled her as her eyes fell upon the Hall. She glanced at the end, near the staff table, where the Weasley's had gathered over Fred's body, weeping together. She tore her eyes away and instead stared at where she'd seen Colin Creevey lying motionless, his younger brother sobbing over his body.

She couldn't take any more. She felt rather than heard the cry rip from her throat as she dropped to her knees. It was too much. _It was too much_.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	4. Light Is Fading

**Chapter 4**

 _How frustrating and so degrading, this time we're wasting_

 _As time will fly by and the sky will cry as light is fading_

 **September 10th, 1971** _  
_  
James let out a surprised scream, interrupting Peter. He grabbed his head as devastation flooded him. He felt like he'd lost everyone he'd ever loved. He felt like he was alone. He bit his lip hard as his friends scurried next to him to check on him.

"James?" Peter whispered, worry leaking through. Remus traded a look with the panicked boy and nodded shortly. Without a word, James scrambled to his feet and bolted from the room, leaving Remus to come up with an excuse.

He made his way to the bottom of the girl's stairs and glared. They'd been at school for two weeks now, and he'd tried already to climb the steps. Lexi had just giggled at him and informed him that boys weren't trusted to be in the girl's dorms.

So, James did what he knew best. He grabbed a book and chucked it up the stairs. The book hit the door hard. Nothing happened for a few minutes, so he threw another. After that, a tired and irritated Lily Evans opened the door and padded down the stairs, glaring at James. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Is Lex up there? Something's wrong," he told her hurriedly. Lily blinked at him and went back up without a word. He waited anxiously for a long two minutes before she rushed down the stairs again, this time with slippers on as well.

"She's not there," Lily said, pulling on her hair anxiously. "Her wand is gone and there's some sort of magic surrounding her bed, but I don't know what."

"Great," James winced. "Great. I gotta go find her."

"We should tell Professor McGonagall. If you think there's something wrong-,"

"I don't think, I know. And we can't tell her. Lexi will just get more upset if there are too many people," he told the redhead, walking to the portrait. As he reached to open it, Lily grabbed his arm.

"I'll come with. The castle is too big for you to go alone."

"I don't know…"

"James, please," Lily said, turning her beautiful green eyes on him. "She's my friend. Let me help you."

"Alright," he said reluctantly. "But if you find her, find me right away and bring her to me."

"Right," Lily agreed. They broke apart once they left the common room, and James disillusioned himself – he'd gotten the hang of the hard spell with Alexia's help. He flew through the halls, trying to hope that his sister would be okay.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was too much. She saw a flash of Remus in her mind and thought back to the night Dumbledore died when they worked together to collect the students and deposit them in their common rooms.

 _Her hands were shaking as she closed the portrait, sealing the Gryffindors away. She cast a few spells to protect them and one that would alert her to it opening again, in case some Gryffindor, brave as the lot were, decided to go exploring._

 _She made her way quickly from the hall. She knew the Order were scouring the grounds to look for lingering Death Eaters, but there would be none. They weren't stupid… usually. Hermione blinked back tears as she passed Kingsley, giving him a weak and unbelievable smile – not that he could blame her. They were all feeling about the same way._

 _Hermione drew her wand to her head and placed a Notice-Me-Not on herself. She wasn't sure she could handle interacting with anyone. Harry had been taken for comfort by Ginny, and Ron was staying Bill and Fluer to calm Molly in case she snapped at her son's fiancé._

 _She made her way aimlessly through the castle. There were people everywhere, and it was making it very hard to find somewhere to be alone. Biting her lip, she came across the doors to the Astronomy Tower. She didn't know how she got there, but it seemed perfect. No one was around. Taking a deep breath, she slipped through the doors and up the steps._

 _If she hadn't known better, she wouldn't have believed that someone had died there. The Tower was as peaceful and calming as she'd always found it to be. She loved looking at the stars and finding Constellations was one of her favorite pass times. Her father had spent countless nights in the summers and on weekends pointing them out to her, telling her their names and stories. She was fascinated with them._

 _Hermione felt bad for not feeling upset up there. She should've been upset with the place. Dumbledore had been killed there. But really, she couldn't be upset. Even if her old Headmaster was gone, the Death Eaters had left as well. Even the Dark Mark had disappeared from sight. The only thing that she saw was the steadiness of the Constellations and the wonderful tools to study said Constellations._

 _"Hermione?" She jumped and turned as someone called her. She relaxed upon seeing Remus standing behind her. He looked tired and sad, and there was a cut on his shoulder. Her eyes widened at the sight._

 _"You're hurt!" She exclaimed, moving closer._

 _"I am?" He asked in shock. She nodded and pulled her wand._

 _"May I?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She saw something flash in his eyes but he nodded._

 _"Please." She waved her wand over his shoulder fluidly, muttering quietly to heal him. She watched in satisfaction as the deep wound closed and siphoned away the remaining blood. "I didn't think anyone would be up here," he told her quietly. She raised her head to look at his kind, sad eyes._

 _"Neither did I," she whispered. "But it doesn't feel…"_

 _"It doesn't feel different," he said, looking away and up at the stars. She nodded quietly and followed his gaze._

 _"Canis Major," she breathed, staring at the Constellation. "It was always my favorite when I was a little girl."_

 _"He really was the brightest of them all," Remus told her quietly. "Of all his family of stars and constellations, Sirius was the brightest."_

 _"I wish I had known him better," Hermione told him. The werewolf watched her with broken eyes._

 _"He cared for you," Remus told her softly, glancing over. "You were… another star to him, just like Harry or myself."_

 _"I- I was?" She asked. Remus nodded._

 _"He saw something in you that reminded him of an old friend," Remus said slowly. "You remind me of her as well."_

 _"What was her name?" Hermione wondered. Remus blinked and looked up again, sighing._

 _"You wouldn't know her. Not many do anymore."_

 _"Oh."_

 _"She was fierce," he started, obviously choosing his words carefully. Hermione figured she was probably dead, so it was likely hard for him to talk about. "She was kind and extremely loyal. She was a wonderful judge of character, even if we always second guessed it. She was a lot like Harry's father, actually. They were… very close."_

 _"Oh," Hermione said again, this time in surprise._

 _"She always took care of me," Remus continued with a small smile. "After the full moon, she would spend hours in the infirmary with me. She figured out that I was a werewolf in our first year."_

 _"She knew?" Hermione asked in shock. From what she'd heard, Remus had told very few people. She was beginning to wonder just how close this girl was to the Marauders._

 _"Yes, she did. But she kept my secret for me. She was… she was brilliant," Remus cleared his throat. "You truly are a lot like her, Hermione."_

 _"I don't know…" the girl sighed and changed the subject. "You saved my life tonight."_

 _"I did?" He blinked at her in surprise._

 _"Yes. Someone shot some curse at me and… well, you shoved me out of the way. It only just nicked my side. Madam Pomfrey said I'd have died if it hit me straight on."_

 _"I didn't even realize," he said somewhat awkwardly. She smiled sweetly at him and stepped over, hugging him, much to his surprise._

 _"I just wanted to say thank you."_

 _"There's no need," he replied softly. "I'm just glad you're okay."  
_  
OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lily slapped a hand over her mouth to avoid squealing and jumped to the side to hide in an alcove as a Ravenclaw prefect passed by. She'd completely forgotten about the older students patrolling the halls. She slipped away before she could be caught and quickly made her way through the corridor. It was a long, empty hall, and she needed to get through it to find more classrooms. She winced as she thought about passageways. Alexia seemed to have a decent knowledge of them, and she didn't.

All she could do was hope that her friend was somewhere safe and somewhere they could find as she made her way into a new classroom.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was too much. Alexia groaned in pain as she glanced down at the scar on her stomach that she got during the Department of Mysteries battle.

 _Hermione groaned in pain as Dolohov tightened his grip on her. Her hand was crushed awkwardly against the openly bleeding wound on her stomach and she felt him laugh. The sound was disgusting, and she wished she couldn't hear it._

 _The battle had wound down. The Order was regrouping and trying to find all of the kids. Hermione had spent very little time wondering why they hadn't noticed her. She'd felt the strong compulsion magic mixed with disillusionment and a notice-me-not. On top of that, she couldn't seem to make any noise. She was truly terrified._

 _It was only as Dolohov began to move that she noticed there was still one pair dueling. Bellatrix and Sirius were trading curses faster than anyone she'd ever seen before. She had heard tales of Bellatrix's terror, but she had never known how good Sirius was. He was a fair match for her, if not better. Dolohov seemed to notice them as well, because she felt him still, his curiosity getting the better of him, though he was still holding her tight enough that it hurt._

 _The Order and Death Eaters alike stayed back from the pair. No one could guarantee they wouldn't be hit by a wayward curse. The duel was going well for Sirius. He was gaining speed and Bellatrix seemed to be tiring; her spells were beginning to slow. When the witch cast a curse that definitely would've hit Sirius, Harry threw up a shield to protect his godfather. The man shot a quick glance at the boy and grinned._

 _"Nice one, James!" He called. Harry's smile froze, but Sirius didn't seem to catch his own mistake. He turned back to Bellatrix, but she'd already thrown another spell. His smile faded as he realized he'd been hit. Hermione tried to jerk herself away from Dolohov, but his grip tightened even more, and she gasped at the pain. Sirius stumbled back a little, and Harry looked up at the man in wonder, no doubt questioning why he'd not attacked back._

 _When Remus saw what was happening, he ran at Harry, grabbing him firmly. The boy looked back at him before turning to see Sirius falling back into the Veil. It was a long moment before Harry understood and let out a scream of anguish. No one, however, heard Hermione's matching scream._

 _It wasn't until someone literally ran into the hidden teenager and Death Eater that they were found out. Dolohov released her and ran for it, escaping and leaving behind a shaken and shocked Hermione.  
_  
OoOoOoOoOoOo

James decided, against his better judgment, to search the dungeons first. He was breathing heavily as the surges of agonizing emotional pain swept through him. He wondered again what horrible thing Alexia had gone through to feel such pain, but he would never ask. If she felt like telling him, she would.

He ran through the dungeons, checking everything but the Slytherin common rooms before leaving. He shook himself as he sped through the castle to check the courtyards. There was a lot to check, but he would turn the place upside down to find his precious sister. She needed him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was too much. She thought back to the time she had gone with Harry to Godric's Hollow. She knew it was a bad idea, but there was also a definite chance of a Horcrux being there.

It was like walking through her own memory. She briefly wondered if she had entered a pensieve, but she quickly realized she hadn't. She glanced around and found herself walking through the snow toward the graveyard. Her breath hitched as she hurried to the grave that Harry was sitting at.

James Charlus Potter

Lily Elizabeth Potter

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death."

"Who the hell decided that fit them?" She muttered bitterly.

"Dumbledore," a voice said. Alexia jumped and looked around to spot the voice. It was a beautiful woman dressed in a silky blue and black dress that flowed to the snow but never quite touched it. She had long, golden hair that reached to the bottom of her back. Her eyes shifted constantly, and Alexia couldn't spot a color; she only saw emotions. Sadness, anger, denial, frustration, and they finally settled on hopelessness.

"Who are you?" She whispered.

"I am Achlys," the woman told her, gliding closer. Alexia blinked and thought hard. The name sounded familiar, and it sounded Greek.

"Oh," she gasped, eyes widening. "You're the goddess of sadness and despair."

"Yes," Achlys whispered.

"Why… I mean, no offense, but why are you here?" She asked bluntly. The goddess's lips twitched slightly, but she didn't smile.

"Because you are lost in me, little one," the goddess told her. "I offer a little of myself to you, and you clung on like a child to a mother. You seem to think that, without me, you cannot face the new world."

"I didn't- I'm not-," Alexia broke off with a frustrated sigh. The hopelessness, the sadness, and depression were clinging to her, not the other way around.

"A man once was stuck in a lake. He did not know how to swim. There were dangers in these waters, all longing to eat him. He prayed to the gods for a way to live. A man in a canoe went by and asked if he wished for help. The man told him, 'no, the gods will save me,' and the canoe man left, but a knife fell from his boat. The man ignored the knife, even though the creatures wanted to eat him because he insisted that the gods would save him. Even a helicopter flew by, and they threw down a rope to him. He declined, stating that the gods would save him. And so, denying all the opportunities to live, he was pulled under the water and eaten, though he drowned first."

"I- I'm not sure I understand what you're saying," Alexia told her with a frown.

"The man had been sent help by the gods," Achlys explained. "They tried to save him, but he refused their help because he refused to acknowledge he had been given help."

"So you're saying… I've been sent help?"

"Yes," the goddess agreed. "James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and more. They are your tools. Use them and find yourself happy once more."

"O-okay," Alexia told her, blinking. "I will."

"You have had a hard life," Achlys stated. "You have impressed many of my friends. You will be rewarded for your actions."

"I-,"

"Now go," the goddess commanded. And with that, Alexia felt herself being pushed from the graveyard.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lily reached the Great Hall and bent over to catch her breath. She hated running. When she was breathing easier, she stood up straight again and entered the large hall. It was dark, but she could easily hear someone breathing heavily with little gasps of crying interrupting every now and then. Her heart ached at the hopeless sound. She was about to move toward the sound when James Potter came barreling at her.

"Have you found- oh," he gasped, noticing the noise. He sped away from her, leaving her to light a quiet "Lumos" and follow. When he reached the Gryffindor table, his heart broke at the sight of Alexia sobbing brokenly on the floor. He fell to his knees next to her and gathered her into his lap. "Lex? Lexi, c'mon love, I'm here."

She didn't reply, and when Lily made it to them and shone the light down, he saw that her eyes were tightly shut. He rubbed her arm gently and looked up at Lily nervously. The redhead didn't say anything but instead knelt down as well, grabbing Alexia's hand.

"We're here," Lily told her quietly. "Please wake up. Let us help you."

At those four words, Alexia shifted slightly in James's lap. He rubbed her arm sweetly as her eyes fluttered open and a soft sob broke from her lips. "Jamie."

"It's okay, Lex. You're okay," he promised her. She nodded shakily and jumped a little when Lily squeezed her hand to alert her of her presence. She blinked at her friend.

"Lily," she whispered. "I-,"

"Lex, what happened?" James interrupted. She looked at him hesitantly, glancing between him and Lily. She bit her lip. She wanted so badly to tell the both of them, but it would make even less sense to Lily than it did to James. They were supposed to be twins. But maybe it would be okay to tell Lily the truth. She trusted the girl.

"Can we go somewhere? I know a place we can talk in private," she told them shakily. James and Lily shared a confused look.

"But we are in private," James said.

"Not private enough," she replied. "Humor me, Jamie."

"Fine," James sighed. Lily shrugged helplessly. It was almost two in the morning. A while longer out wouldn't hurt.

They made their way to the seventh floor. It was a slow walk, but Alexia showed them multiple passageways, and they got to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy within ten minutes. Alexia paced in front of the wall three times, asking for a comfy and private place to talk. James was about to question her sanity when the door opened and she walked in, waving them after her. They just blinked for a long minute, so she rolled her eyes and pulled them both in.

The room was a large library with couches and chairs that were equipped with pillows and blankets. She plopped herself on the nearest couch and sighed as James set next to her, letting her drop her head on his lap. Lily sat in the chair next to them, and Alexia bit her lip. Before she could talk herself out of it, she spoke.

"Jamie and I aren't blood twins," she said. She felt James still under her and saw as Lily's eyes widened.

"Alexia!" James shrieked in a manner that Lexi normally would've found funny, had he not just used her full name.

"You're… I don't understand," Lily frowned. "You act like siblings and look like it, and no one's questioned it."

"Jamie and mum and dad are blood traitors," Alexia told the girl. She felt James take deep breaths, attempting to calm himself. "Most people refuse to associate with them. Jamie went to a muggle school and mum and dad taught him the rest at home."

"How do you know that?" James asked quietly. She shrugged.

"Mum told me about a month ago when I got curious."

"So… wait, then why do you two look so much alike?" Lily questioned. Alexia smirked slightly.

"Magic," the twins said together. James seemed to be repeating her answer from when he asked the same question, and Alexia laughed quietly.

"Helpful," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "So why are you two so… twinish?"

"I'm not sure about that," Alexia said with a shrug. "I was going to ask Mum when I wrote her. The thing is, when the four of us stood in the room together for the first time, it felt like something had clicked inside. I was going to research bonds-,"

"You don't know?" James asked in surprise. She knew everything.

"Know what?" Alexia frowned.

"Dumbledore had mum and dad adopt you, so you're officially a Potter by magic. You're bonded to the family. It's probably why we have the connections twins have because that's what we claim to be and act like."

"Oh."

"So… why do you pretend to be twins? Why not just tell everyone you're adopted?" Lily asked curiously.

"Yeah, I've wondered that as well," James added. Lexi bit her lip, not sure how to answer them.

"With the… situation I was in, Dumbledore thought it best to place me with the Potters and not allow society to question me. Being adopted would raise questions," she told them slowly.

"And what situation made him do that?" Lily asked, chewing on her lip. She assumed it had to be bad for the headmaster to get involved in such a way.

"Lily, I have… well, you're a muggleborn. I've got nightmares and PTSD," Alexia admitted. "I went through some really bad things. I lost… I lost a lot. I lost friends and family and had to learn to defend myself. My best friend almost died and…," she paused to take a deep breath. James stroked her hair to calm her, and it was working. "A lot of people died. I grew up too soon."

"You're eleven!" Lily stated in horror. "How could you have gone through all of that?"

"It was like war," Lexi shrugged helplessly. "War is unforgiving."

"I'm so sorry, Lex," James whispered, staring at her in a mixture of horror and admiration.

"'S'okay. I'm alive. It's just… well, the reason I react badly to being here is that a lot of this happened at my old school, which was a castle a lot like this one," she lied. "It was a war between my town and the one next to us. The final battle took place at the school because everyone had gathered there for protection."

"How have we never heard of this?" James asked quietly. Lily nodded, wondering the same thing.

"It was a small town and covered up pretty well," Lexi shrugged, lying easily once more.

"If you have a nightmare," Lily said quietly. "You could always sleep with me. Sleeping with my sister used to make the nightmares go away if I had them."

"Really?" Alexia asked with wide eyes. James looked hopeful as well since it seemed like his sister didn't want to sneak into his dorm and wake him.

"Of course," Lily smiled. "I've always wanted another sister."

"I've never had one before," Alexia told them. "Well… there was a girl named Ginny, but she's… gone."

"Well, I'm here," Lily said before grinning evilly. "And James is kinda girlish, too."

"Hey!" James exclaimed, pouting. "I am not!"

"She's right, Jamie," Lexi laughed. "You do have a pretty face."

"Shut it," James sniffed. Lexi smiled sweetly at him and kissed his cheek.

"We should get back to the common room," Lily said after a few minutes of silence, chewing on her lip. Lexi raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"We could always stay here for the night," she suggested. "It's late, and I don't know if we could make it back without getting caught."

"It's a wonder we didn't get caught looking for you," the redhead sighed.

"This castle is so big, and you know so much of it. It was nearly impossible to find you," James complained. "I wish there was some sort of map."

Lexi grinned brightly, an odd glint in her eyes. "Interesting," she mumbled quietly.

"You sure we could sleep in here?" Lily asked nervously. Lexi shrugged.

"No one will find us in here, and… well, I guess I would really rather be somewhere quieter and more private," Alexia told them. Lily and James both nodded easily, and Lexi wandlessly waved her hand, a blanket floating over to her and James and then another to Lily. She cuddled up to her brother and closed her eyes, quietly casting a Tempus alarm to wake them for breakfast and completely missing the shocked looks James and Lily stared at her easy use of very advanced magic. She relaxed and felt herself quickly drifting off to sleep, comforted by the solid presences next to her.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	5. Wish You Were Sleeping

**There will be some time skipping between each part of the chapter. By the end of the chapter, they'll be nearly at Christmas break. Yay! We get to see Dorea and Charlus again, and Potter Parents will meet and fall in love with Sirius!  
**  
 **Chapter 5  
**  
 _If you decide to live by, what you think's wrong and what's right_

 _Believe me, you'll begin to wish you were sleeping  
_  
 **September 17th, 1971**

"You have got to shut up," Remus hissed. Alexia snorted at the offended look on Sirius's face and poked his back hard.

"He's right. We're trying to prove something here, and he won't take it seriously if we don't," Alexia told them calmly. James sighed and quieted down, and Sirius slid in place next to Alexia.

"How do you know?" He asked curiously.

"Rumors, of course," she scoffed. "Besides, he hit you with a water balloon yesterday. It says something about his character."

"Bloody lucky shot," Sirius pouted. She rolled her eyes and took his hand as they reached the Great Hall where their devious target was switching the salt on the tables with Max's Magical Itching Powder. Not as strong as Fred and George's, Alexia thought, but enough to annoy anyone.

"What do I have here?" Peeves grinned, floating over. Alexia grimaced slightly as she remembered the poltergeist pouring deadly mixtures of potions on Death Eaters in the Final Battle. It was a rather gruesome way to die, but she figured they'd deserved it. "Newsies to play with!"

"No," Alexia stated firmly. Peeves paused, looking at her. His gaze unnerved her as he flew down to meet her. Her friends, brother included, all took a small step back from her. Bloody cowards.

"We've met," he stated simply. She tried to keep from wincing. She'd heard rumors about him and his odd time senses but had assumed none of it was true. He was just a poltergeist after all. "But… when?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she muttered tiredly. Remus frowned, his wonderful werewolf hearing allowing him to pick up what was obviously not meant to be heard. "But we come with a proposition."

"Really?" The poltergeist cackled, eyeing the odd group mischievously. Sirius was looking at him with the same exact look, and it made Alexia grin slightly. She really could imagine him being the next Peeves. She pushed away the pang of sadness – which did not go unnoticed by James or Remus – and nodded.

"A peace treaty and mutual agreement of trust and help," Peter said with a smirk.

"Oh?" The poltergeist looked between them all and narrowed his eyes. "And why would I do this?"

"Because," James spoke up. "We will be your minions for a day – as long as we won't get expelled or suspended or anything – and then we will help each other when we need it… which includes, for us, not telling a teacher if you find us out at night."

"Hm," Peeves settled before Alexia once again and nodded, obviously deeming her the leader of the little group. "I'll agree."

"Wonderful," Alexia said, her evil grin reminiscent of her mother's.

"Tomorrow will be fun indeed," the not-quite-ghost cackled. "Shall we plan?"

"We shall."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

In the end, the five of them got a hefty amount of detentions and a decent amount of points docked from Gryffindor, but they decided it was more than worth it. They'd brought the statues to life, thanks to Alexia, and scared random students and even teachers. They'd put an impressive sticking charm to multiple things in the school, the tables in the Great Hall and a great deal of doorknobs being a couple of those things. They set up time-sensitive balloons filled with a mixture of water, flour, itching powder, and food dye. They set off at random intervals in very random places – Peeves had placed them perfectly while the kids had done the spell work.

The five of them got hit with a number of their own pranks, but they laughed it off easily. It was a lot of fun for them, and it eased some of the stress of a new school year for many students. Alexia grinned as she remembered the statues scaring McGonagall.

Minerva was hurrying down the hall with Albus in tow as she heard yet another surprised yelp from down the hall. The castle was in chaos, and the teachers were split between horror and frustration and being extremely amused and entertained. Minerva, however, was just generally annoyed.

She had already had a number of students get stuck to her door and desks, and the most infuriating part of it was that the sticking charms somehow came back when they were removed. She would remove one student, and then ten seconds later, another would be stuck.

She huffed as she sped through the little hall with the Headmaster, who was enjoying this a little too much. She turned toward a door and went to open it, but was stopped by a cold hand on her arm. She screamed in the most Un-Minerva manner and felt her hand fly to her mouth in shock. She felt Albus behind her, obviously attempting to hide his soft laughter. What was worse, however, was the unabashed giggling coming from the next hall over, disappearing slowly as whatever students witnessed her unfortunate moment slipped away.

All in all, it was extremely enjoyable, and even more so when they remembered they had the loyalty of the impossible to tame Peeves. Alexia trudged into her first detention willingly and stopped short at the sight of Malfoy sitting in the room as well. Before she could talk, Slughorn popped into the room with a grin on his face. He'd obviously been one of the teachers to enjoy their pranks, which didn't surprise her in the least. As selfish as the man was, he'd also been a great teacher and, she'd found out, had a wonderful sense of humor.

"Ah, Miss Potter! Now, just remove any charms set on this room and then do any homework you have. I'll be in my office," he told her and swept out of the room again without waiting for an answer. The girl snorted indelicately at her "punishment."

"That was amazing charm work," Malfoy told her after a few minutes as she set to work. She smirked at him, eyes shining with pride.

"It had to be perfect or it wouldn't work," she told him as she waved her wand delicately at a desk. It was a simple sticking charm mixed with one of her own creation, thus making it impossible to remove without her doing it herself.

"It was impressive nonetheless, especially for a first year," he told her. She paused to look at him, and her hard gaze was enough to make even Lucius Malfoy uncomfortable, something that made him even more curious about her.

"I'll admit that it was probably… unexpected, especially from someone so young," she allowed, shrugging. "But it had a wonderful outcome, don't you think? To me, that far outshines whatever I did."

"Chaos was the outcome," he told her as if she didn't already know. He didn't truly seem to be judging her. He looked more curious than anything, and she couldn't help but wonder why he was bothering with a first year Gryffindor student at all. "You think chaos wonderful?"

She thought for a long moment, actually considering his question. She answered carefully, picking her words with precision. "I think controlled chaos can be just what some people need. It is the beginning of term, and it did help some people relax and laugh."

"And others were scared out of their wits, stuck in place for hours, and drenched in an awful substance," he countered lightly. She grinned at him, and he found it was a sweet sight.

"Yes, but chaos is nothing without victims. Besides, I would not have ever done anything to truly harm anyone," she promised. She was so sincere and, for the first time since they'd been talking, she made direct eye contact. He was surprised because she'd not done that yet. She seemed to be offering to let him see if she was lying, but he couldn't figure out why she cared so much, so he decided to believe her.

"I think you'll be interesting for all of us," he replied softly, a small smirk gracing his lips. She shrugged lightly, but her eyes suddenly looked haunted in the sort of way he'd only ever seen from his grandfather, who had fought against Grindlewald. The look made him shiver.

"So, why are you here?" She asked suddenly. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and she waved at his homework. "Just studying or did you get detention?"

"Oh," he laughed. It was completely ridiculous. "Detention."

"How?" She asked. He thought she sounded shocked, but he couldn't be sure. He watched her wave her wand for a moment before placing a hand on the desk to check it. When the hand came up with no problems, she moved onto the next one.

"It's ridiculous," he said with a roll of his eyes. "A first year student got into a fight with his brother and they spent the night arguing. I did his homework for him – it was easy and I enjoy writing those essays in potions. I got caught."

"Really?" She sounded even more surprised now, and he bit his lip to hold back a retort. "Potions seems great. I just can't seem to get the hang of it."

"I heard Severus Snape was going to help you," Lucius said with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged lightly.

"Yeah, but he's also got his own homework, and we can't seem to make our schedules fit… plus, my brother is an idiot."

"I fail to see how he has anything to do with this," Lucius lied. He knew James disliked Snape quite a bit and found it ridiculous. From the scowl on Alexia's face, she seemed to as well.

"He doesn't like Sev because Mrs. Snape yelled some insults at me and knocked me down in Diagon Alley and Sev couldn't stop her," she explained, and Lucius frowned. Sure, people could be pureblood bigots – and Eileen Snape was being a hypocrite, marrying a muggle – but it was just bad form to shove a little girl in public.

"Are you alright?" He found himself asking. She laughed, smiling kindly at him, and he saw genuine gratitude in her eyes.

"It's been a couple of months since it happened, so I'd say I'll live," she said cheekily. He laughed and nodded, accepting that it was a stupid question.

"I can help you as well if you like," he offered. She looked up at him in surprise, her wand pausing once more over the desk in front of him that she was working on. She was standing almost next to him now, and he noticed the defensive pose she must've been holding since before she'd walked in. It was an oddly advanced pose, one only duelers and Aurors tended to use.

"Help with what? This charm won't come off for anyone but me," she told him. He felt his curiosity peak. He had been wondering why the teachers didn't just remove it, but he decided not to ask.

"I mean with Potions," Lucius corrected with his charming smile. She bit her lip hard and watched him, her gaze still making him want to squirm. He didn't, however, because he was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not squirm, especially around curious Gryffindor girls younger than him. "I find I enjoy your company, and I believe helping you study would be quite interesting."

"That would be great!" She exclaimed, grinning at him again. She leaned against the desk as she began to relax but froze abruptly, gasping.

"Alexia?" He asked, surprised by her sudden change in mood. She groaned in annoyance and tilted her head back to take a deep breath.

"I think I just stuck myself to this desk," she pouted. Lucius felt himself bubble with laughter at the miserable look on her face and stood.

"Why don't I help? You could teach me the counter for the charm," he suggested. Alexia eyed him nervously but nodded. She showed him the counter and they soon set to work, him first removing her from the desk and then helping her to finish removing the charm, which took quite a while. She had, apparently, placed it on quite a few things in the room. It was nearly one in the morning by the time they'd finished, and Slughorn sent them to their dorms. Lucius left his detention feeling much better than he had felt going in and smiled as he thought of teaching the brilliant witch something new.

Lucius Malfoy was certainly excited, and that was extremely hard to do.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **November 3rd, 1971**

Remus was, more than anything, confused by Alexia. She was his first friend and he adored her for that, but she was so… odd. She was haunted by things that Remus couldn't figure out. He wanted nothing more than to understand so he could help her, but that seemed so unlikely. James was extremely protective of her, and he figured prying wouldn't get him anywhere good with her twin.

James was another thing. He was wrapped around Alexia's finger, but even he didn't seem to know what was wrong with her. He was the only one who could truly calm her down, though Lily, Remus, and Sirius were beginning to help with that as well.

Alexia was a very physical person. Remus had never been comfortable with physical touch because of his condition, but she never really cared about that. She pushed through his comfort zone and made him help her, and he was okay with that for the most part, as long as she didn't know about his condition.

Which was why he was confused and terrified when he woke from sleep after the second full moon at Hogwarts and felt someone holding his hand. His eyes shot open at the touch and he was surprised to find Alexia sitting next to him reading a book and holding his hand. She looked at him and offered a kind smile.

"How are you feeling, Remus? Last night seemed rough," she told him. His eyes widened at her words and he was about to respond when she continued. "I hope you don't mind, but I helped Madam Pomfrey heal a great deal of your wounds. I was just so worried that I couldn't not help."

"Could- last night-," he looked at her in fear. "I'm sorry."

"Remus, no," she said forcefully, sitting up so she was closer. He cringed at the little space between them. "I don't care about that. You're my friend and you won't hurt me, I know it."

"Alex, I will-,"

"No. You won't. As long as I don't come up to the Shrieking Shack during the full moon, I'm safe. I know a lot more about werewolves than you probably do. Did you know that my best friend back… before Hogwarts was partly raised by a werewolf?"

"I- no."

"Well, he was. The werewolf was extremely careful, and I'm still safe. I knew him for years."

"But I'm not that werewolf," he insisted. She bit her lip to keep from laughing and squeezed his hand.

"But you're a lot like him. Remus, I'm not going to leave you, love. You're my friend. Let me take care of you before and after the moon, please. I want to help."

"I don't know, Alex. It's just… I'm not sure it's a good idea."

"Of course it is," she said with a scoff. "You won't hurt me and if you're dangerous, I'll stay away."

"Promise?"

"I promise," she said softly.

"And you won't… you won't tell the others?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "I would never share a secret that doesn't belong to me." _Again_ , she thought, regret ringing through her at the memory of the Shrieking Shack when she'd announced to her friends that Remus was a werewolf. She hadn't missed the betrayal in his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered. She smiled and nodded.

"You're family now, Remus. There's no need to thank me."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **November 23rd, 1971**

"I don't understand," Alexia hissed, frustrated. She'd passed potions in her first year with an O, but she had never truly understood it. Snape had been so hard on her, and she hadn't understood it to the depths she would've liked.

"That's alright," Severus soothed. "Why don't we take a break?"

"Fine," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. They'd been working for three hours, and she was reaching the end of her patience.

"Lex!" James called, running into the library. Alexia winced at his volume and waited to respond until the oaf got to her.

"What?"

"Quidditch tryouts are starting soon," he told her as he reached them. He grabbed a lock of her hair absently as she glared up at him.

"You're a first year, Jamie, you can't try out."

"Yeah, but it'll be fun to watch," he told her with a pout. She scowled at him.

"I'm doing homework with Sev. I can't."

"Ditch him," he suggested. The look on her face made him instantly regret it.

"James Charlus Potter, you stop that right now!" She hissed at him. "Severus is my friend and you are being an ass. I've explained what happened multiple times, and you refuse to care! Now leave me alone. Take Sirius with you if you so badly want to watch."

"Sorry," James mumbled. She ignored it because he was obviously only sorry for upsetting her and not for what he said.

"Go." It was more of an order than anything, so he just sighed and left the library, leaving behind a now cranky Alexia.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"What's got you so depressed?" Sirius asked, snorting at the sour look on James's face. His friend whirled around to glare at him.

"Lexi's studying with the snake again," he sighed. Sirius followed his example as they reached the stands and sat to watch tryouts.

"You idiots should let that go," a voice called. The boys spun to see Marlene McKinnon rolling her eyes at them, hands on hips. "Alex is getting really pissed at you both. He's her friend. Just leave them alone."

"What's it to you, McKinnon?" Sirius called, frowning. She scoffed at him, and both boys felt moderately offended.

"She's my friend. You annoy her, you annoy me," Marlene said as if it were glaringly obvious.

"That makes no sense," James said. "It's got nothing to do with you."

"If I told Sirius he was a dirty dark wizard would you be offended for him?" The girl asked.

"Yes!" James declared, frowning heavily.

"It's the same thing. Merlin, you boys are so stupid."

"I just don't get how she can be his friend," James told Marlene with a defeated sigh. "He's a snake."

"So? I'm a snake, too," the girl said. James and Sirius just shrugged.

"Yeah, but you spend more time in Gryffindor common room than your own," Sirius countered. "You're not so bad."

"You're idiots," Marlene sighed.

"Thanks!" The boys said together. She rolled her eyes and sat next to them to watch the tryouts, letting the conversation fade. She had tried, and it was all she could do.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **December 16th, 1971**

"Alex, stop," Remus whined, pushing her hand away from his plate. She looked up at him with the pout that worked all too well on him every time she used it. What could he say? It was his one weakness. "Fine, but not too much please."

"You'll eat what I give you," she said firmly, piling breakfast onto his plate. He shot a look to his friends, who just laughed and ignored him.

"Why do you do this?" He asked tiredly.

"Why not?" She countered.

"Because you've got your own breakfast to worry about," he tried.

"Nah," she shrugged. "I hate breakfast. It makes me feel ill."

"It's true," James sighed, jumping into the conversation. "She's never really eaten more than two meals a day."

Alex nodded quietly as she poured Remus his pumpkin juice and set it in front of him. The werewolf sighed in defeat and took a bite of his eggs while she let her head fall onto the table, exhausted.

"Did you sleep last night?" Sirius asked her, absentmindedly drawing circles on her arm. The two of them always seemed to be touching in some way or another. As a matter of fact, Remus thought, she always seemed to be touching one of the group, though she gravitated toward Sirius if James wasn't around. It wasn't that she wasn't almost always touching Remus somehow as well, it was more just that she and Sirius seemed to have some sort of bond that neither had noticed yet. James was her twin, so it made sense she was so close to him. Remus was also beginning to fill her need of touch as they were growing closer. The only one she didn't crave physical touch from was Peter – even Lily was rather close to Alex. It was odd, Remus mused. She was perfectly friendly to the mousy haired boy, but she was never much more than that.

"No," she huffed. "Alice and Mary were up studying for the bloody quiz in Defense today, and they were really loud."

"They were actually pretty quiet," Lily told her absently. "They kept their voices to a whisper."

"Lexi's got super sensitive hearing, especially at night," James told them, smiling sadly at his twin. "I used to drive her crazy."

"You still do, prat," the girl huffed, bringing her head up to wink at the boy.

"Why weren't you studying, too, Kitten?" Sirius asked with a frown. It was a well-known fact that Alexia was rather obsessive when it came to Potions. It was almost like someone had destroyed her confidence in the class.

"Sleep," Alex moaned.

"She's not been sleeping," Lily explained with a sympathetic smile. "I'm about ready to take her to Madam Pomfrey for a dreamless sleep or something."

"You wouldn't dare!" Alexia gasped in horror, turning to her friend.

"I would," Lily sighed.

"But I need the time!"

"To do what?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at her. He was tired from the moon, sure, but she wasn't taking care of herself at the sime time that she demanded to take care of him and he wouldn't have it.

"I- well- I'm just-,"

"Need to sleep," James said firmly. "We'll drag you kicking and screaming if you don't start."

"Jamie," Alexia whined. "Exam season is starting."

"I'm sure you'll survive," Sirius laughed. "You've read each book at least three times by now."

"Well, yes, but-,"

"Lex, just sleep seven hours a night, and we'll leave you alone," James tried.

"Four," Alexia countered.

"Six," James said firmly, narrowing his eyes at her. She slumped and nodded quietly. "Good."

"Let's head to class," Remus suggested. "It might be best to get there early if she's so nervous."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The test was easy. Alexia had answered each question in a breeze, but she'd still rushed to check her answers with Severus, thus leaving the remaining Marauders to talk amongst themselves, something which they would all regret quite a bit.

"So, what do you suggest?" Sirius whispered, raising an eyebrow at James. He felt Remus sigh in exhaustion and sit back, making a point of not participating in this conversation. He fully sided with Alexia on this point, something that everyone else ignored.

"Maybe tripping jinxes and some slicing hexes at his homework?" James suggested. He looked tired, so Sirius couldn't completely blame him for the lame ideas.

"Nah, too easy. What else?"

"Can we make his homework tap dance every time he touches it?" Peter asked. Sirius's head shot up in pleased surprise at the idea.

"You know, Pete, that might just work…"

"How?" Remus snorted. "Alex won't help you, and you idiots rely on her for a lot of your advanced spell work."

"We'll work it out," Sirius said, waving away the question. He poked James hard in the side to wake the boy. They had some studying to do.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"I'm sure you did fine," Lucius laughed as he rounded the corner with his little Gryffindor friend. She gasped and grabbed his arm at the sight in front of them. Sirius Black and James Potter were doing research.

"What are you doing?" Alexi asked tensely. The boys' heads shot up at the sound and exchanged nervous looks while Lucius quietly tried to get her to relax her grip. He would have a bruise at this point.

"Studying?" James asked, looking worriedly at his twin. It was a shame he was genuinely afraid of her… for him.

"I highly doubt that," she said through clenched teeth.

"You have no faith in us, Kitten," Sirius said, hand on chest. "I'm hurt."

"I'm sure you'll get over it," she drawled, rolling her eyes. "Regardless, you're at my table and-,"

"How is it your table?" Sirius questioned with a laugh. James shot him an alarmed look as Alexia's grip only tightened, her annoyance skyrocketing.

"Because it is," she hissed. James blinked at her.

"That's alright, Lex, we're just leaving," her twin said hastily, kicking Sirius hard under the table. The Black heir sighed dramatically as they packed up their things. James waved a little as they walked away. "See you later, Lex."

"You'd better hope not," she muttered as they scurried out of the library. She huffed in frustration and bit her lip hard, thinking about what they could possibly be doing.

"Alexia?" Lucius said quietly after a long minute.

"Mm?"

"I think you're about to break my wrist," was his dry response. She blinked at him and looked at his arm, gasping when she saw her tight grip. She let him go and offered a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. They just make me so… nervous. They're really not good for my blood pressure," she told him as they sat down and pulled out their books.

"Someone as young as you has blood pressure issues?" Lucius asked lightly, smiling at her, obviously amused.

"I didn't until they teamed up," she said seriously. He couldn't really tell if she was joking or not, so he dropped the subject and they began their reading in companionable silence.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"What do you mean, your homework dances away?" Alex asked through clenched teeth, looking much too calm for her tone of voice. Severus winced as he saw her jaw clench the way it did when she was pissed off. As much as he didn't like Potter or Black, he wouldn't wish Alex's fury on his worst enemy – which, he supposed, was what they were.

"Well… I went to pick it up this morning, and it just… danced off my desk?" He offered, pointing at the offending papers, which he'd made his roommate carry for him.

"Is it still doing this?" She hissed. He reached for the paper as an example and watched it jump up and dance away until it felt gently to the floor. She sighed heavily. "Right. Okay. _Finite Incantatem_." She waved her wand over the paper and watched it relax as the spell was cancelled.

"Thank you," he sighed as he picked up the paper, smiling when it didn't tap away.

"They're dead," she told him as a reply. "You prank my friends, you prank me."

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously. He had a bad feeling about this.

"What do I mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean I will have my revenge."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **December 17th, 1971**

"There's a notice permanently stuck to the board addressed to us?" James repeated, suddenly very nervous. Lily smirked at him and waved vaguely at the board by the fire, walking away quietly. James stood, dragging Sirius and Remus who grabbed Peter as well to the board, gasping upon reading the only notice up there.

 _Messrs Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew have been served notice of war. Messr Potter has taken official offense on behalf of one Mister Snape, whose homework tried valiantly to evade him._

 _The Prank War of 1971 has officially begun. Watch your backs._

 _Signed, The Better Messr Potter.  
_  
There were a long few minutes of silence as they all processed this before James turned to his friends, a look of horror on his face. "What have we done?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	6. Dependent At Times

**Chapter Six**

 _Lovin' what I'm tastin'_

 _Venom on my tongue_

 _Dependent at times_

 **December 21st, 1971**

The last day before Christmas break was long, and it ended in a shouting match in the boys' dorm which Alexia put down to Sirius's stubborn refusal to listen.

"I don't want to pack because I'm not going home!" Sirius shouted, tossing the clothes James had put in his trunk back on the floor. "I'm not going to see that bloody woman, James!"

"What about your brother?" Peter asked, apparently not having been told of James and Alex's plan to take Sirius home for Christmas.

Alex had warned their mother before they even left for school, but she'd brought it up to James only a week earlier, having completely forgotten. He'd loved the idea but had forgotten to tell his friend the plan, so when Sirius had been nowhere to be found, James had simply begun to pack his trunk for him, resulting in the screaming.

Sirius seemed to waver at the reminder of Regulus but shook his head nonetheless. "He clings to Mother's skirts, he wouldn't even be able to see me if I was there."

"Sirius, I'm not suggested that you-,"

"Good, because I'm not going back there until I absolutely have to! You know that!"

"For Merlin's sake, why the hell are you screaming?" Alex shouted, interrupting them. James and Sirius rushed to answer her, both yelling still, and she put her hand up, looking over to Remus, who looked ready to kill his friends.

"Sirius refuses to go home. James isn't very eloquent."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Sirius, you're coming home with us. Chill, and stop screaming. You're giving Remus and I both a headache."

"I'm- what?" Sirius stared between her and James with wide, hopeful eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Honestly, I think Lexi planned this from the moment you were sorted into Gryffindor," James admitted. Alexia winked at Sirius and ducked out of the room to give them time to pack. Her things had already been sent down to the train, and she sped out of the common room, where some students had dragged their things down to pack instead of trying to do so in a crowded room.

She made her way to the almost vacant library, looking for Severus. She'd gotten all of her friends a gift and knew that he wouldn't be coming to the New Year's Ball - his mother had declined his invitation - and she wanted to give it to him then. She'd taken to wearing her beaded bag again, feeling comfort and familiarity in it.

When she looked around, she found only Lucius sitting on a couch with a book in his hands. She walked up silently behind him and read the page he was reading quietly. Her brow furrowed when she read the subject: pureblood family trees.

"You could always ask what I'm reading," he told her, sounding amused. She did her best not to jump but when he turned, she saw a look of concern on his face and knew she'd failed. "May I ask you a question?"

She forced her tense shoulders to lower and nodded. "Sure."

"Why is it that you are always on guard?"

The question overwhelmed her and she considered what to say. She didn't want to lie, per se, because she knew she couldn't lie to him successfully. But she didn't want him to know even as much as James and Lily did, either. "There's a lot to be afraid of in the world we live in, Lucius."

"There is," he agreed as she came to sit next to him. "The unknown especially so."

She felt some suggestion from him but was unsure what it was. Feeling the need to change the subject, she dug through her bag looking for the gift she was giving everyone as well as his personal gift. Her hand hit a potion bottle and it fell over and she cursed softly, pulling her hand out to look at it. There was glass stuck in her hand and it bothered her that it didn't hurt as much as she expected. Aside from that, she recognized the potion from its rare color and cringed, hiding her hand away from him. "I should go to Madame Pomfrey. If you'll excuse me-,"

"Alexia, hold on," he grabbed gently for her hand and as much as she wanted to fight him, she knew she couldn't. She winced looking at the injury again and thought about both the mess in her bag and the fact that she was now down a potion for break, which meant that she'd probably be pretty bad off for a while. "Let me heal this."

"Madame Pomfrey can-,"

But she couldn't argue because he'd already begun. He gently pulled the glass out of her hand and used it to catch the spare potion that he siphoned off of her hand, as well as the blood. With that done, he gently sprayed it with some water and went to heal it with his wand, but she held up her other hand.

"I have dittany," she admitted. She didn't want any more scars than she already had, and if she didn't use the potion, it would certainly scar. She opened her bag again, this time using only one hand, and pointed her wand inside. " _Accio dittany_." The tiny bottle flew out and Lucius caught it for her.

He didn't comment as he finished fixing her up. When the dittany healed it, he washed off the hand once more before releasing it and handing the bottle back over. When she finished putting it in her bag, she looked back up to see him staring at her with a blank face. Her gut churned uncomfortably. After everything, she had a very bad feeling about what he'd seen.

"Alexia, are you aware of the potion that just broke in your bag?"

"It is my bag," she answered vaguely, and he just took that as a yes.

"Is there a reason you have it?"

She bit her lip and used possibly the worst excuse ever. "Just in case?" She wondered if he would've scoffed at her, had he not been so tense.

"This potion is near impossible to get. Only after being diagnosed with _Longis Cruciatu_ can you get this potion," he explained, and her shoulders slumped. She'd had no idea. "What happened?"

"Something really bad," she muttered, waving her wand inside her bag to vanish the mess of glass and potion in the bottom. With that done, she focused back on finding his gift. "And it wasn't that long ago so please just let it go."

"There's a lot about you that doesn't make sense," he commented, though his voice was lighter and she realized with no small amount of relief that he was going to respect her wishes. "What are you looking for?"

"Your gift," she muttered before sighing, annoyed, and pointing her wand at the bag again. " _Accio_ DA coin," she paused to catch the coin and set it on her leg before returning to the bag. " _Accio_ … gift," she tried, not wanting to ruin the surprise. Unfortunately, the lack of specification brought every gift out of the bag at once and hit both of them. She let out a squeal and tried to catch the ones that were falling off of the couch. It didn't work, and she pouted slightly at the sight of her gifts all over the place.

"Try being more specific," Lucius laughed, handing her the gifts that had fallen into his lap. She made a face and shoved all but one back in the bag and took a deep breath before looking at him.

"Right, so first is this," she told him, handing him the Galleon. He raised an eyebrow at her. "It's for communication. Rub your thumb around the middle three times and think what you want to tell me and it'll send the message. It'll light up the message above my coin, but only I'll be able to see it. Same with yours."

"That's incredible," he complimented, looking it over. "How did you do it?"

"An upgraded Protean charm and a few other charms," she told him. She didn't want to expand on it because as much as she didn't mind knowing more than she should, the other charms she'd used for the coin were extremely rare and hard to find, and definitely out of a first year's depths. Likely out of a regular fifth year's depths, even. "I'm giving one to each of my friends, just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Anything," she answered ominously, before rolling her eyes. "Though I expect James and Sirius will just use them for pranks."

"And that?" he nodded at the small wrapped box in her lap and she grinned brightly. She handed it over and he carefully unwrapped the green wrapping paper, revealing a black box inside. Glancing at her curiously, he opened it and stared down at the silver snake head with emerald green eyes. "It's incredible. What is it?"

"Put it on the end of your wand," she suggested. He did as she told him to and she felt tingles at the sight. She had given him that part of his wand. And he'd used it his entire life.

"It's lovely," he told her as he admired it. "Where did you find it?"

"Oh, I had it made," she waved him off. It had been a shot in the dark, and she'd not been going to give it to him had it not been perfect, but it had been and she knew. "It's Goblin made. It'll retain the excess energy from your spells and feed it back into your wand, make it more powerful. I imagine it'll take a little getting used to."

"That's brilliant," he complimented with a grin. "Thank you, Alexia."

"Keep the coin on you," she reminded him. "Just in case."

"Just in case."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Where the hell is she?" James tapped his foot nervously. He didn't feel anything wrong, but she was taking forever and he was almost worried she would miss the train. "She's never late."

"Chill," Sirius rolled his eyes, nodding his head out the window to where Alex was walking with Lucius and laughing softly. "Or don't. She is with a snake."

"I don't even get why he likes her," James growled out. "It's creepy."

Remus stared at him. "He's one year older. Not exactly a predator."

"Still. He's evil!"

"I heard his dad's having a hard time finding him a cousin to marry," Sirius snickered. "He keeps denying them all."

"Oh, he has a choice?" Remus raised an eyebrow. As a halfblood, he had a fair amount of knowledge on the subject. His father had come from a good family of nice pureblood wizards and had taught Remus all about the world of purebloods.

"He's the Malfoy heir," James let out a humorless laugh.

"He can pick almost anyone he wants as long as he picks by twenty," Sirius explained. "They want to make sure it's a good match to rule the kingdom or whatever."

"What if he picks Lexi?" Peter suggested, holding back a laugh at the outraged looks he got from James and Sirius both.

"Mum and Dad would never let her!" James shouted. "She can't marry him!"

"I can marry whoever I damn well please, James Potter," Alex snapped as she entered the open door to the compartment. "Now sit down and shut up. Who are you talking about?"

"Lucius Malfoy," Peter told her with a chuckle. She rolled her eyes.

"Lucius and I will not be married," she promised so firmly that they believed her. "Now, are you all coming to the New Year's Ball?"

"I don't know, Alex." Remus sighed. She knew immediately what his reservations were and was furious. The moon was nowhere near the ball - he just didn't like being in large crowds at all for fear of hurting them.

"Remus Jacob Lupin, you will come or I will come to your house and forcibly drag you there myself," she glared deeply, and his eyes widened. He nodded, and she smiled, giving him whiplash.

"Pete?" James asked.

"I'll be there," the boy confirmed. "Who else is coming?"

"Oh, I invited Lily," Alexia spoke up. "And Severus said his mother has a work party planned so he's going to sneak in with Lily."

"Lex, if mum finds out-,"

"That's why she won't," she raised an eyebrow. "His mum will be gone for three days and his dad is out of the country so he's going to stay with Lily and come a day early like she is."

"Lexi!" James whined.

"Jamie!" she mocked, making a face. "Deal with it. He's my friend."

"He's a prat is what he is-,"

"Oh boy," Remus muttered.

Alexia stood calmly and plucked her wand from her pocket, using it to turn some curls before she pointed it at James and hit him with the bat boogey hex. With that done, she marched from the compartment to go find Lily and Severus.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

When the train arrived at King's Cross station, Alexia ran out of it as fast as she could and toward her parents, James running after her, screaming. Dorea and Charlus exchanged an exhausted look before Charlus caught Alex by the shoulders and Dorea grabbed James, holding him tight.

"Woah," Charlus's mouth dropped open at the sight of slimy bats flying out of James's nose. "What happened here?"

"Lexi hexed me!" he managed to gasp out between bats.

"He insulted my friend and he has been all semester!" she shouted back, glaring at her brother. "You should be glad I didn't zip your mouth shut, though that certainly sounds appealing now."

"Hey, wands down," Charlus told Alexia with a stern look. She huffed and put her wand away as Dorea looked over James.

"I don't think I've ever seen this before," she admitted, looking to Alexia. "What is it?"

"The bat boogey hex," she announced proudly. "My friend made it."

"I'd like you to remove it, please," Dorea requested, though Alex knew it wasn't a request. She gave a pout before removing the hex, much to James's relief. "And James, you have to stop insulting her friend. How would you like it if she insulted your friend?"

"My friends _are_ her friends and she insults them all the time!"

Alex shook her head. "Not Remus."

"Yeah, kitten, why's he exempt?" Sirius asked, speaking for the first time. He'd been watching the scene in amusement so far.

"He's different," she told him without explaining.

"This must be Sirius," Dorea grinned, looking at the boy. His ruffled, neck length obsidian black hair and trademark silver eyes seemed wrong matched with his bright smile. "I'm so excited to have you here for Christmas. Tell me, are your parents coming for the Ball?"

"Merlin, I hope not," he muttered.

Alexia's gaze drifted over to where she saw Remus looking around, lost. She frowned at him as a surge of strong love and protectiveness rose up in her. She remembered him telling her once that his parents had often forgotten or avoided him because he was a werewolf, and it made her furious. He straightened and looked across the platform directly at her in shock, and she wondered if, even from there, he could feel what she was feeling and if just maybe he knew it was for him. She waved him over and hesitantly he came, coming to a stop at her side, where she grabbed his hand.

"Mum, Dad, this is Remus Lupin," she introduced. "One of my absolute best friends."

"Hello, dear," Dorea smiled kindly. "Will we be seeing you over break?"

He nodded quickly in response. "I'll be at the ball."

As the attention turned away from him again, Alex scooted closer to whisper to him. "They're not here?"

"No."

"Come home with us," she requested. At his immediate denial, she rushed on. "Spend Christmas with us. Please, Remus? It'd be so great. At least come home for today. We can owl your parents and see what's going on."

"...okay."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

In the end, Remus's parents had jumped at the chance to send their son away for even longer. Alexia and Dorea were feeling similar feelings of rage and familial love. It was all a little overwhelming for Remus, who was unused to such protective people in his life.

After dinner, both Alexia and Remus were overwhelmed while Sirius and James had a ton of pent up energy. The latter two were sent out to fly while the former two went up to Lexi's room to hang out in a more relaxed atmosphere.

"Hey, Alex," Remus called after thirty minutes of companionable silence. She looked up from her book on Animagi to the boy, who was frowning. "How did you know about… me?"

"Oh," she marked her page and set down the book. "Well, I told you I knew a werewolf, right?"

"Yeah."

"He taught me how to look out for others," she explained. It was only a bit of a lie. Truthfully, it had been Severus who had really shown her the characteristics of a werewolf, but the specifics didn't matter. "James doesn't know how to, though. But I recognized it quick. You got sick, you could feel my emotions, you were weaker toward the moon. Three months in and I knew."

"Actually," he frowned at her. "It's not only close to the moon. I'm an empath. I can always feel your emotions."

Alex stopped, freezing with her mouth hanging open a little bit. It did make sense, but it presented a whole new problem. How was she supposed to hide her complex emotions from an empath? Though, she supposed, he'd already felt all of it. She'd done some reading on an empath in her fourth year and it didn't mean anything good. Remus would emotionally bond to people of importance in his life and would be able to feel their emotions almost anytime, anywhere. There were times it would fade, of course, but almost always he'd know what she felt. Which made sense. He'd always been really in tune with her, and she just assumed it was the way he was.

"Oh."

"Are you okay?"

"Um… yeah."

Remus snorted. "Lexi, I just told you I'm an empath and you're trying to lie to me. What's wrong?"

"I don't like the idea of you or anyone being able to know what I feel at all times," she admitted. A horrible thought slipped into her mind and she felt sick with anxiety. "Remus, at night, do you ever-,"

"I do," he nodded, and she swore softly, biting her lip hard. "Only when I'm awake. When it's really bad it can slip into my dreams but it's okay."

"I'm sorry," she muttered, hating herself a little more now. "I didn't realize. I'll try and find something to block it or… I don't know. I'll figure it out."

"It's okay, Alex," he assured her. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Huh?" she replied, distracted.

"How did you find me on the train?" she looked up at him again, surprised.

"I don't know. I was walking and I just saw you and… I don't know. It felt immensely important. I had to be your friend."

He gave her a soft smile and stood, making his way over to lay next to her on the large bed. His feet hung off the end, speaking to his abnormal height for being the age he was. "I'm so happy you know."

She smiled brightly at him. "You might be a werewolf, Remus, but you're still a wizard, and you're still my friend. It changes nothing, no matter what you think."

There was a thump outside the door and Alex's lips thinned as a string of panicked cursing could be heard. She jumped off the bed and swung the door open to see Sirius and James lying on the floor trying to get up. They looked at her with wide eyes, knowing they were caught. "James, Sirius, get inside. _Now_."

They did as she asked, standing in front of the bed where Remus had a blank face. She knew he was lost and scared and she wanted to help him but she had to yell first. But before she could say anything, Sirius spoke.

"Why would you think she wouldn't be your friend because you're a werewolf?" he asked with as much tact as usual. Remus winced hard and James and Alex both smacked Sirius.

"Because I'm a monster and I could hurt people," Remus answered, his voice shaking.

Alexia's mind drifted back to the image of Greyback tearing out Lavender's throat and she shuddered. "Remus, I know exactly one werewolf that is a monster and it isn't you. He kills people, you don't. You're just trying to live your life and get an education."

"What monster werewolf do you know?" James asked her in surprise. The dark look on her face had him nervous.

"Fenrir Greyback," she answered. "And Remus isn't anything like him, got it?"

"Hey, I wouldn't-,"

"How?"

Alexia turned to Remus upon hearing his small, quiet voice. "What?"

"How do you know him?"

She considered making something up but she decided on telling the truth instead. "He killed a friend of mine. It was… brutal."

"Lex," James whispered, pulling her into his side. She let him, not able to hold onto the anger she'd felt toward him moments ago. Truthfully and shamefully, she wasn't particularly upset over Lavender's death. She simply remembered it as the first moment she'd seen someone die in the final battle, and she'd thrown up as she'd run to the boathouse. She'd gotten Greyback off of the girl but she was certain she hadn't killed the wolf, no matter how much she wished she had.

"Holy shit," Sirius whispered, watching her. It had been clear since the day they met that she'd gone through some shit, not to mention some shit that James hadn't gone through and apparently didn't know about, but he hadn't imagined something so gruesome.

"My point is," she told them, staring into Remus's eyes. "Remus is our friend. Our family. He's nothing like Greyback."

"Greyback is the one that bit me," Remus told them. Alexia stiffened at the new knowledge. She'd known he'd scratched up Bill pretty bad but she'd never known he'd bitten Remus. "When I was four. My dad was… I guess he was saying some pretty nasty stuff about werewolves but especially Greyback, and so he took it out on me."

Lexi pulled herself from James's grasp and crawled onto the bed, pulling Remus into a tight hug. She said nothing as James and Sirius did the same. No one spoke at all, just lending each other support for nearly an hour until Dorea poked her head in the door and sent them all to wash their hands for dinner.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **December 22nd, 1971**

 _Hermione stood at the front of the bridge, staring at the Dementors. She felt absolutely no change in emotion as they creeped forward. Beside her, Harry cast a weak Patronus, and though she tried to do the same, nothing came out. They were only saved by Aberforth, who sent a Patronus stronger than possibly even his brother at the dementors, and the ghastly creatures flew back. Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, and the trio fought their way across the battle toward the boathouse._

 _She was stopped by a man with blood dripping down his face and, having no time for it, she cast the Killing Curse, gone before his body even hit the ground. She raced after her friends to see them caught by an army of giants, weaving in and out of their legs. Her eyes caught those of Draco Malfoy, who stood there in shock and horror as a giant tripped back, about to fall on her. To her surprise and relief, he cast a shield above her. It wasn't strong enough to hold up the giant but it was strong enough to give her time to get out. She spared him a glance as she ran but he was already gone._

 _Hours before then, she had been rushing through the castle in search of Harry. She and Ron had split up after Ginny took the map to find Neville to deliver news from Professor McGonagall. Truthfully, she hadn't listened and hadn't cared._

 _Her search was stopped by a familiar man with a familiar sadistic grin and curly black hair. His eyes were a sharp blue that made her shiver, and she didn't even have the time to try and recall his name before they were duelling. He was obviously more learned than she was, but she had more raw strength, and all she could hope was that it was enough. They traded hexes and curses like a dance, and she could feel her power slowly draining. In a moment she expected him to take a second to breathe as he had been, he shot a curse at her. It hit her side and she cried out in pain, falling to the floor. Whatever it was, it was dark, and it_ hurt _. Her entire body was on fire, or it felt like it. He stalked over to her, a smirk on his face._

" _I've been looking for you, Alex."_

"Lexi!" James called to her, touching the side of her face gently. "Lex, please wake up."

"No, stop it!" she screamed in her sleep. "I'm sorry, just stop!"

"Alexia!" he tried again, though it didn't work. She kept silence wards around her room, but they only worked when the door was closed completely, and he'd opened the door a crack after she'd fallen asleep. With his room across from hers, it was easy to hear it. Unfortunately for James, he hadn't realized that it would also make it easy for Sirius and Remus to hear.

Sirius sped into the room, his wand clutched tight in his hand. Upon seeing James kneeling over Alexia on the bed, he understood the situation, though he felt horror run through him. He dropped his wand on the bedside table and jumped up on the bed as well, grabbing Alex's head to put in his lap. It had a different and much worse effect than he was intending. As James yelled for him to stop, Alexia's eyes shot open and she rolled over to pin Sirius to the bed, her arm down on his throat. Her eyes were wild, and she shook violently all the while.

"Lex, hey," James put a hand on each of her arms. "It's us. You're okay. We're here. I'm here, Lex. Take a deep breath."

She did as he said, almost automatically, and Sirius watched as her eyes cleared from the clouded uncertainty and fear he'd seen moments before to a horrified understanding. She jumped back from him, hitting her head against James's own, and crawled back on the bed until she was as far away from him as possible. "Oh my god…"

"It's okay," James assured her, holding his hands out in front of her. "We're not upset. He's not upset, see? He's just worried."

Sirius nodded quickly, getting to his knees again to look at the scared and agitated girl. "You okay, kitten?"

She let out a gasp at the nickname and rushed toward him, though this time to hug him. He held her, looking at James in shock, as she cried into his shoulder. The door creaked open and they all looked over to see a terrified looking Remus lock eyes with Alex, whose fear turned to guilt.

"Jamie," she whispered, her voice so soft that even Remus could barely hear it. "The fort."

"Yeah," he agreed, getting up off the bed. "Let's go, Lex."

"Where are we going?" Sirius asked as he carefully helped the girl off the bed.

"We built a fort," was all James said in reply. The group of four walked silently up a flight of stairs, the only sound the padding of their feet against the wood floors. They went to the last room on the left and entered to find a giant fort of pillows and blankets and even bean bag chairs and stuffed animals lying around the room. James had whispered a password before the door would let them inside and once inside, Alexia relaxed a great deal.

James sat down and Alexia sat in front of him, waiting while Sirius and Remus positioned themselves in front of and behind her. She laid her head in Sirius's lap and her feet in Remus's, grabbing James's hand and relaxing as Sirius carded his fingers through her hair gently.

"That one was bad," James whispered as if he didn't want to disrupt the silence. Alexia nodded in response.

"I remembered something that…" she shook her head, looking confused. "Doesn't make sense."

"Wanna talk about it?" Sirius asked. James looked at him in horror. It had been his unspoken rule not to ask his sister about whatever trauma she'd endured for a while, and Sirius had so casually broken it without any respect at all for the careful way he'd been handling her fears. But to his surprise, Alexia gave a short nod.

"Jamie, I'd like to tell them," she said. This time, it was a warning and a request as opposed to the way she'd told Lily. He nodded once and she moved on. "I want to make it clear that James is my best friend and my brother, my twin, no matter what."

"Okay…" Sirius stared at her.

"But I was adopted this past summer."

" _What_?" Sirius stared.

"I thought so," Remus sighed in relief. She had made no sense. No matter how close they were, there were some things that James didn't know about her that made no sense. Things a brother should and would know.

"Um," she glanced to James. "There's also something you don't know."

"Lex, you don't have to-,"

"I need to right now," she insisted. He nodded once and she moved on. "So before I was adopted, I showed up at Hogwarts really injured and they had to patch me up."

"I know," James nodded. "Dad told me you would be. Said you'd need time and a friend. A brother."

"Yeah, but…" she sighed in frustration and dug into her beaded bag, which she'd grabbed on her way out of her room. She hadn't been willing to go anywhere without it. She finally found what she was looking for and pulled it out, showing it to them. James and Remus gave her a blank look.

Sirius, however…

"Oh, fuck," he whispered, eyes wide with horror. "Oh… fuck."

"I don't understand," James looked between his sister and best friend. "What is it?"

"It's an advanced pain potion," Sirius let out a shaky breath. "To be taken for years at a time by people who have undergone extreme periods of the… the _Cruciatus_."

James and Remus stiffened.

She looked between them. "When I arrived at Hogwarts, I was a nineteen year old girl named Hermione Granger who was in a lot of pain and a lot of danger and I needed help."

"Oh my god," Remus breathed. "That makes so much sense. That's how you know so much."

"I thought it would be awkward, becoming eleven again," she admitted. "But honestly I don't feel like I've ever been older, even if I know better."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Sirius wondered. She let out a sigh. It felt good to have the truth out there, even just a part of it.

"Because I'm exhausted," she told them. "Of having these things in my past that no eleven-year-old should have gone through."

"Lexi," Sirius frowned at her. "No nineteen-year-old should've, either."

"I had no choice," she told him. "And I was old enough to be taken seriously enough to go through it at all. At eleven, I wouldn't be."

"What… who?" he asked. She considered her options. Tell him the truth and risk him flipping his shit on his cousin or lie. She settled for neither.

"I'd rather not say," she admitted. "Not right now. Maybe another time."

Sirius stared at her for a long second, suspicious.

"So, if you're nineteen," James considered. "That explains why you know Hogwarts so well. You've already gone."

She blinked, relief flooding through her at the excuse that wasn't even a lie. "Yeah. But the teachers don't know the truth. Just Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey."

"Cool!" Sirius grinned, breaking most of the tension. "You can help us with our homework!"

"No," she made a face at him. "I spent my first time around helping my best friends and I'm not doing it again."

"Aw, Alex!"

"No!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	7. Beat Is A Chemical

**Chapter Seven**

 _This beat is a chemical,_

 _Beat is a chemical._

 **December 30th, 1971**

Christmas was a happy, quiet day. Since the first night back and Alexia's big nightmare, the group had taken to sleeping together in Alexia's bed. Dorea had taken a picture the first morning and woken them up without a word.

The days following Christmas were spent in chaos. The kids helped the elves clean; they didn't have to, but Dorea liked to make them do chores occasionally, and cleaning out old cupboards of heirlooms was a fun time with Alexia. In the end, they'd found a beautiful silver and red ring that looked like vines twisting around her finger delicately and it had readjusted its size to fit her perfectly.

The day before the Ball, all that was left was finding the perfect outfits, something that the kids themselves had put off since they'd gotten home. Sirius felt fine letting the Potters pay for his dress clothes, but Remus was a different case. It took severe Slytherin meddling before Remus gave into Dorea's quest to buy him a good set of formal robes.

The shop was quiet and mostly empty, save for the four kids, along with Lily and Severus, who had tagged along as Lily didn't have anything appropriate and Severus didn't want to stay at Lily's house alone with Petunia.

"Oh, this one is pretty," Lily gasped, grabbing a plum colored floor length dress. Alex nodded and waved for her friend to try it on. Once the other girl had left for the dressing rooms, Alex moved to another rack, gently touching a deep green dress. As much as her brother and Sirius hated the color, she enjoyed it greatly. It complimented not only her skin well but also her now black hair. She plucked it off the rack and made for the dressing room when she ran straight into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so-," she cut herself off as she caught sight of the boy in front of her and grinned, giggling softly.

"We can't keep meeting like this," Lucius told her as he grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "Are you alright?"

"I think I'll survive," she confirmed. There was a moment of silence and she bit her lip. "Will you be at the Ball?"

"I will," he nodded curiously.

"I'd like to talk to you for a moment if that's alright," she requested impulsively. The serious look on her face made him curious and he tilted his head. "It's serious. I need to ask you a favor that you may very well be uncomfortable with."

He dipped his head. "We'll talk tomorrow."

She offered him a smile. "Thank you."

He went to turn away but paused. "Green suits you, Alexia."

She nodded, her smile growing as she met his eyes for the briefest of moments. "I think so, too."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **December 31st, 1971**

The day of the ball was just as hectic as the week leading up to it. Caterers had arrived and house elves had prepared everything before anyone had even woken, and yet both Charlus and Dorea were in a tizzy as they double and triple checked everything for the night ahead.

The kids, now including Lily and Severus who had opted to spend the night in Potter Manor, spent most of the day playing or doing their own thing. For Alexia, Lily, and Severus, that meant reading quietly in the library.

Alexia had been undergoing the process of trying to find her Animagus form for months and she knew she was almost there. She could see something with a tail and ears and she only hoped she wasn't a dog like Ron's Patronus.

As she slipped deeper into her meditation, she could see… three different animals, much to her surprise. One was a snake, and it made her pause. She knew she had a fierce snake in her and she was starting to accept that, but she also knew it wasn't all that she was. Another was a bird, one that she didn't recognize. She liked the idea of it, but she didn't want to fly away. She wanted to be present and close to her friends. Which led her to her last form.

A fox.

The sight surprised her a little. The fox had red hair and a dark, bushy tail. It was on guard, but also open to fun. Which, she supposed, was what she wanted to be. And as she decided that, the other two choices faded away, and she _felt_ the fox.

She felt the fox just a little too much.

Before she could stop herself, she was sinking to the ground and she could hear Lily shouting in surprise at the sight. Her book fell to the floor and she sat patiently. She had absolutely no clue how to change back, that much was for sure. She felt stuck with the form she was in, and it made her itchy. She watched carefully as Lily ran out of the room in fright and Severus slowly walked over to her, his hand out in front of him to pick up the book. She could smell his uncertainty and worry, and she saw his eyes close as he took a breath.

"You are ridiculous," he muttered with an eye roll. "You should know better than to do this alone, Lexi."

She just let out a small bark, which made her want to cry.

"Okay," he let out a breath, kneeling down to look at her. "Okay. Do you remember how it felt to be human? Do you remember how soft your skin was?"

She did, and she missed it.

"Remember that. Hold onto that. Do you remember what you looked like? Do you remember your hair?"

She did. It was black now, and she liked it better that way.

"Do you remember what it felt like to grab a handful of grass or dig your toes into the sand? Remember that, Lexi."

She did, and she focused so hard that she thought she might explode. And, she supposed, it did sort of feel like exploding. Her body shot outwards and she felt so abruptly human that she turned to the trash can and threw up.

"Lovely," he muttered a couple minutes later, plucking her book from the floor. "This specifically says to have someone with you while you try this, Alexia."

"There was no one I could have with me," she defended herself. "I was fine until just now."

"I'll sit with you the next time you do it," he told her, sighing as if it were a chore.

"Um," she frowned as she poked her head out the door. "Where did Lily go?"

"Probably to get your mum," Severus suggested. Alex's eyes widened in horror and she sped out of the room to stop her well-meaning friend.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Alexia sat in her bedroom with Lily as she charmed the girl's hair to stay put as she shoved in about a hundred bobby pins. Lily had done the same for her, and she was grateful. She wanted everything to be perfect for Dorea and Charlus.

"Okay," she stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Looks like a good updo to me."

"It's perfect," Lily grinned.

"Okay," Alex stepped over to the bed to pick up her dress. "Time to get dressed and go downstairs."

"Are you ready for this?"

"No," she let out a short laugh. "Are you?"

"No," Lily agreed. "My first wizarding party. How bad will it be?"

Lexi shrugged. She'd asked James the same thing and he'd assured her it would be fine as long as she avoided the old people. "Just steer clear of people you don't know and you'll be golden."

"Gotcha," Lily muttered as Alexia slipped into the bathroom with her dress. She quickly pulled her clothes off and put on the beautiful floor length dress she'd gotten. It had long sleeves, much to her relief. The glamour Madame Pomfrey had given her had only lasted for an hour before the dark magic left over in the scar had torn it apart.

"Ready?" she asked, poking her head out the door. Lily stood in her beautiful plum colored dress and fidgeted with the bracelet that Alexia had given her for Christmas. It was the only jewelry she wore, and it made Alexia smile. She herself was wearing only the Potter ring and a necklace Fred had gotten her to make up for the joke product that had given her a black eye. She'd appreciated it and wore it whenever she could and when she couldn't, she'd kept it in her bag, just to remember.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Lily agreed. The girls linked their arms together and left the room, walking down the large staircase together. The ballroom was already bustling with people, and they slipped easily into the group.

It was a full thirty minutes of just dancing with her friend before the boys had even finished getting ready and joined the group. There were plenty of kids from school along with their families, and they mingled with them mostly to be polite.

James pulled Lily away from her for a dance and she made her way over to the drink station where she desperately wanted to steal something alcoholic. With a desolate sigh, she grabbed a cup of water instead.

"You sound absolutely miserable," an amused voice said. She looked over to see Lucius smirking at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Only to anyone looking."

She let out a huff. "I don't like dancing and I especially don't like big crowds. They stress me out."

"Perhaps you'd like to get away and talk," he suggested, holding his hand out. She took it with great relief and let him lead her from the ballroom. Once out, she led him up the stairs to the library, where she locked the doors and put up about three wards to discourage prying eyes and ears.

"Thank god," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Too many people talking down there."

"Are you alright?" he asked her in concern. It seemed just as genuine as the night they'd met and that was infuriating to her. He'd raised his son in the hands of Voldemort, watched her be tortured for more hours than she could count, and still, as a child, he was kind to her.

"A lot is going on," she admitted. She could tell he didn't mind delaying the subject but she certainly did. The nightmare she'd had at the beginning of Christmas break was haunting her and she needed to know. Unfortunately, her options were Sirius or Lucius, and for some reason, her gut leaned toward Lucius. "I need you to use Legilimency to help figure out who I dreamt of."

"I'm no master Legilimens," he looked at her cautiously. She'd been right the day before- the request did make him uncomfortable. Still, he could tell it was important, which was the only reason he was considering it at all. "What is so important?"

"I'm not sure," she frowned, looking down at the ring on her finger. "But it feels crucial."

"Alexia," he said, waiting until she looked at him again. "I cannot control what we see. I can only guide us along the path you're looking for. Are you certain that you want to do this?"

"I do," she agreed nervously. Truthfully, she hadn't thought it through much. If she had, she'd have considered the things he'd see and how telling they'd be. If her desperation hadn't overcome her, then sense would've taken over. But it didn't, and she placed herself on the arm of the couch and met his eyes, waiting silently.

Lucius took in a deep breath and raised his wand. Something in him knew that whatever was about to happen would be bad, but he ignored it. " _Legilimens_."

 _Hermione threw another curse at the man in front of her, grunting with the effort to dodge his spell. They'd been dueling for a while and she was exhausted already. He hadn't stopped grinning at her the entire time and it made her a little sick. She knew there were some Death Eaters, like Draco, who didn't belong there. But this man_ enjoyed _what he was doing. It was hard to keep up and he'd been stepping closer the entire time, forcing her to back up._

 _He'd had a pattern the entire time. Three spells in succession, a shield, and a two-second break to take a breath. She'd been watching and counting and waiting for her opportunity. So when he was supposed to take a second, she also paused to breathe, her fast breathing making her dizzy and lightheaded. Unfortunately, he must've been waiting for just that. In that moment, he threw a dark curse at her, and she didn't notice it until it was too late. It hit her side and she felt like her entire body was on fire, though she knew it wasn't. The pain was excruciating and she fell to the hard stone floor with a cry. He stalked over to her, a smirk on his face and his wand pointed down at her._

" _I've been looking for you, Alexia."_

The memory shifted and Lucius was tense. Whatever he was watching only proved what he'd guessed at already. Lucius looked around. He was in a very familiar place with Bellatrix and Dolohov, who he'd already identified as the man - not boy - in her dream.

 _Hermione screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face as Bellatrix trained her wand on her and laughed loudly. She was lying on the ground, curled up into a ball with her head hanging back. She could see two people - Lucius Malfoy and someone she couldn't recognize - walk into the room and sit there, watching._

 _Through the pain, a thought danced through her mind, and she almost laughed. She must have truly been desperate to think about begging Lucius Malfoy for help. Seeing the careless look on his face, she knew it would've done no good._

 _The pain stopped suddenly, and she let out a gasp as her entire body began to shake violently. She whimpered, unable to control herself. With a glance at a clock across the room, she guessed it had been going for at least four hours. She wondered if she was done, and her question was answered by the man, who had switched places with Bellatrix after a few words. He pointed his wand at her, and the pain began again. The screaming began again. But the shaking stopped, and that was something._

 _As the door closed, she realized she was alone with the man, and he lifted his wand, kneeling down next to her. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face and stroked her cheek lightly, shaking his head at her as if she were a disappointment._

" _You're almost there," he told her. She could barely hear him or understand him. Her body shook and her chest hurt, and she almost didn't care what he had to say. His breath tickled her lips and she wanted to move back or cry, but she couldn't move. "You're almost her."_

 _He kissed her chapped, bleeding lips and stood, beginning the curse again._

The terrifying memory slipped away from them, replaced by a scene outside the castle.

 _She ran as fast as she could, dodging hexes and curses as she did so. She threw up a shield for Remus as he ran beside her and was almost hit by something she couldn't identify. Hagrid's burning hut was behind her, and she heard more Death Eaters join the fight against few Order members and even fewer students._

 _She turned around to glance behind her and saw a cruel, laughing face running at her. She realized far too late that he'd sent a curse her way. Only Remus shoving her to the ground saved her life from what would've been a fatal hit._

The memory changed for the last time and she felt her chest tighten at the sight before her, unable to stop the memory from playing.

 _She was running around the Veil room, ducking and dodging Death Eaters as she went. She let out a yelp of pain when Lucius got another hit in, the cutting hex digging deep into her thigh. Still, she kept running even as he kept aiming for her. She knew he was only trying to keep her busy, but he was rather difficult to hold her own against, and she wanted to cry._

 _The fight was taken from her, however, when a pair of arms wrapped firmly around her waist and she felt herself be pulled abruptly backward. She nearly fell as the momentum of running was taken abruptly, but the man holding her held her firmly up. She felt his breath on her neck, could smell it, and it made her sick. She nearly threw up when his lips brushed her neck, and she began struggling, but then her eyes caught sight of Bellatrix dueling Sirius._

 _Hermione groaned in pain as the man behind her tightened his grip on her, crushing her hand awkwardly against the openly bleeding wound on her stomach. He laughed and the sound was disgusting, but the feel of his laugh behind her was worse._

 _They were now watching Bellatrix dueling Sirius, and she could almost forget the man behind her as she watched. It was brutal as the pair exchanged hexes and curses. Bellatrix threw an Avada but Sirius ducked out of the way and it hit the ground behind him instead, much to her relief. Truthfully, Sirius was doing extremely well. He was gaining speed and Bellatrix looked overwhelmed by it._

 _When Bellatrix threw a dark curse toward Sirius while he was also casting, Harry tossed a shield in front of his godfather, just barely managing to save the man. Sirius glanced back and grinned, though Hermione could see him sweating from the stress._

" _Nice one James!"_

 _Harry's smile froze, but Sirius didn't catch his own mistake. He turned back to his cousin, but she'd already taken the opportunity to throw another spell. Hermione watched in horror as the stunner, of all things, hit her friend's only family left. It wouldn't have been a problem, but Sirius tipped back just a little too far and fell into the Veil._

 _Hermione struggled against the man holding her, who was laughing, and screamed as she tried to get away. Luckily, Remus rushed to Harry and grabbed him, holding him back from rushing after his godfather._

 _The man holding her dug his fingers into her arms and pulled her back against his chest again, leaning down to whisper to her. Luckily for her, someone ran straight into the pair, alerting the Order of where they were. The man released her by shoving her hard away from him and out of the wards he'd set up. After that, he apparated straight out of the ministry after his friends, leaving her to be found by Tonks._

They slipped out of the memories, out of her mind, and Lucius found himself once more standing across from Alexia, whose eyes were closed tight and her hands balled up into fists.

"Alexia," he said, his voice soft. He could see her chest rising and falling quicker than he thought was strictly healthy. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. He was only one year older than her but she still looked tiny, and now much smaller than he felt she should be.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I didn't… it I'd known you'd see that, I wouldn't have-,"

"I did warn you," he reminded her gently. She didn't reply, so he answered the question she'd come to him to answer in the first place. "Antonin Dolohov."

"Yeah," she muttered, glancing down at her covered arm and shuddering. "Thank you… I've been gone for a while now, Lucius. Jamie is probably looking for me."

Lucius had two options. Ask her about the things he'd seen - including him as an adult and her as a younger adult - or let her go and figure it out later. Looking her over, he knew any conversation would only make things worse for her, so he let it go, despite his strong urge to understand what he'd seen. "Let me escort you to him."

She smiled at him in great relief and took his arm, waving her wand to remove the wards she'd put up. With that done, he escorted her down the stairs to where James was sat in the hall, whispering hurriedly with Remus. At the sight of them, both boys jumped to their feet and rushed over. Lucius released Alexia as James grabbed her face and pressed their foreheads together.

"Is she okay?" Remus asked him with worry. Lucius considered the boy before him. He was a young Gryffindor half-blood, and also a werewolf, something that his father had told him before school started. But he was kind and a good person, so Lucius answered him.

"She will be," he assured him. "I must get back to the party."

As he turned to leave, Alexia broke away from her brother and grabbed his hand, looking in his eyes. "Thank you."

He dipped his head and waited for her to let go. When she did, he slipped back into the ballroom and tried to temporarily forget what he'd just seen.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sirius ducked behind Peter, peeking to see if his mother had caught sight of him. Luckily, it seemed she'd been caught up in a conversation with Cygnus Black. He let out a deep breath and stepped back to where he was, leaning against the table once more.

"You have to see them eventually," Peter told him, sipping at some punch. Sirius glared at him.

"Easy for you to say," he muttered. "You don't live with her. She didn't raise you."

"I know," the boy agreed, glancing toward the open doors where he could see Alexia speaking in hushed tones with James and Remus. "What do you think happened?"

"Dunno," Sirius replied after he realized what his friend was talking about. They watched the small group together and Sirius noted the look of anger on James's face. "She must've run into trouble or something."

"In her own home?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"In her own home that has a bunch of evil bigots in it," Sirius shot back.

"Why are your parents invited, anyway?" Peter wondered, looking at the room of politically diverse people wandering around and mingling as if they didn't hate one another. "Wouldn't it make more sense for Lady Potter to just invite people they actually like?"

"Purebloods," Sirius scowled. "You're lucky, Pete. Your parents don't care. The rest of us have to go to parties with evil people."

"Don't call her evil," Narcissa scolded as she came to stand with her younger cousin. "She'll hex you for that."

"You've met her," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "What are you guys doing here? I thought Cygnus refused to come to a Potter party ever again."

Narcissa looked around them before leaning in to whisper to him. "It's the Potter girl. There are… inconsistencies and he's determined to prove it."

Sirius tensed, worried. "Inconsistencies?"

"The family trees," Narcissa confirmed with a nod. "She doesn't show up on some of them correctly."

"Huh," Sirius's eyes flicked over to where he saw Alexia standing with James and Remus, this time having moved inside the ballroom again. "If you'll excuse me…"

He stepped around his confused cousin, leaving Peter with her, and made his way through the maze of people until he reached his friends. "Guys, come here."

The three exchanged a look and ducked once more out of the room with him, not stopping until they were in the kitchens with the elves.

"Sirius, what is it?" Remus asked, shaking off his friend's hand from his arm.

"It's my uncle," he told them, glancing worriedly between Alexia and James. "They noticed you're not on all of the family trees. That's why they're here. Narcissa told me."

"Wonderful," Alexia breathed, biting her lip as she thought. "Is there anything we can do about it?"

"I can check the Black tree at home," Sirius offered. "I know it can be spelled. Reg did it once a couple of years ago to say that he'd died."

"Why would he do that?" James asked him, startled.

"He wanted to run away," Sirius rolled his eyes. "He told me that if our parents thought he was dead, they wouldn't look."

"Merlin, what sort of kid is he?" Remus blinked at his friend.

"A smart one," Sirius replied with a faint of a smile, despite the fact that he'd been avoiding his brother the entire night. "But there are tons of books filled with the family trees. I don't know what we can do about that."

"Hey, I've got an idea," James spoke up, looking to Alexia nervously. "But… you won't approve, and our parents would kill us."

"Jamie, _no_ ," she frowned at him, already aware of his idea, as she'd had it herself at the same time. "We can't!"

"Lex, what else can we do?"

"Ask our parents for help? And Dumbledore, god forbid."

"And what can they do? It's the best idea we've got!"

"Care to share with the class?" Remus asked dryly. The twins flushed and looked to their friends.

" _James_ thinks it would be a good idea-,"

"I never said it was a good idea!"

"To break into the homes that hold the family trees I'm on to steal and/or burn them all." Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, and she threw her hands up. "I'm serious! We can't do that!"

"No, kitten, I'm Sirius," the boy joked, earning himself a glare.

"No, but James has a point," Remus told her, raising an eyebrow when she glared at him. Of all of them, Remus was least afraid of the girl. Her attempts to intimidate him got her nowhere. "Everyone is here tonight, so if we go now, we can get them all before they get home."

"Guys, breaking and entering!"

"We don't have to do the breaking part," Sirius reminded her.

"And you can handle the wards," James added. Alexia frowned at him.

"Jamie, you need to be a ward breaker to get past complex wards."

"Yeah, but you know tons of stuff. You can't tell me you don't know how."

Alexia thought back to the day the summer before they'd left when she'd confided in Bill about their plans and he'd spent whatever extra time he had up until his wedding teaching her how to break down the most complex warding. It wasn't her best subject but doubled with her knowledge of runes, she was pretty good. "Okay, possibly. A friend spent a summer teaching me."

"Your friend sounds cool," Sirius grinned. "Let's go!"

"No!" she shouted, smacking him. "We're not doing this!"

"Alex," Remus touched her arm, grabbing her attention. "I know it's a bad idea, we all do, but we have to do something. They might be suspicious now but if we fix it, they have nothing to go off of. They might forget. We don't even have to burn them, we can just use magic to change what they say, okay? I think what I want to know is how they noticed, to begin with. Don't people only look at those when someone new is born?"

"Sure, or when a random girl pops up in one of the most powerful pureblood families," Sirius added. "We should've seen this coming."

"Probably," Alexia allowed. "I've been distracted. I got there and barely two hours later Dumbledore took me here. It's been a rush, and honestly, I haven't been the best at concealing everything about myself."

"Yeah," James snorted, rolling his eyes. "Like the snake earlier?"

"That was a bad judgment call," Alex defended.

"What happened earlier?" Sirius wondered.

"She won't tell us exactly," Remus shot a look at James. Alex had specifically requested they not tell Sirius. "But apparently she asked Lucius to look at a memory to help her identify someone and he saw… more than she meant for him to see."

"Lexi!" Sirius gaped at her. "Who?"

"It's not important," she let out a huff. "Fine! Fine, but we have to go now. It takes some time to dismantle wards in a way that wouldn't be noticed, and we don't know what wards I'll need to take down."

"Really?" James grinned at her, excited. "Yes!"

"Shush," she rolled her eyes, moving out of the kitchen and up the stairs as her friends followed her. They moved into her bedroom and she grabbed her beaded bag and wand and looked to Sirius. "Who would have the trees?"

"My parents, the Malfoys. The Potters, obviously. Oh, maybe the Weasleys and the Prewetts."

"Wait, what?" Lexi stared at her brother. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah?" he looked at her in confusion. "The Prewetts and Weasleys are old pureblood families. We're probably distantly related to them somehow. Why?"

"Ah, nothing," she sighed. "So, where do we have to go?"

"Well, we don't have to worry about the Potters," Sirius said. "I guess we'll have to stop by Grimmauld Place… ah, after that, we should get to Malfoy Manor, and that might take awhile- Lexi?"

She'd gone pale, her eyes wide as she considered the prospect of going back to the place she still had nightmares about. "Huh?"

"Lex, what's wrong?" James asked. She looked between her friends, unsure what to say. Since they didn't know she was from the future, she didn't think she could say anything, which also meant that she had no way to explain how uncomfortable she was.

"Nothing," she shook her head, forcing herself to relax. "What next?"

"The Prewetts and then the Weasleys," Sirius finished, still eyeing his friend.

"We should go," she told them. "I'm going to go let mum and dad know what we're doing."

"What?" James looked at her with wide eyes. "No! You can't!"

"Jamie, chill," she let out a short laugh. "They know everything. Dumbledore told them before asking them to take me in."

"They do?" his mouth opened in shock.

"Yep," she answered, popping the 'p'. "I'll be right back and we can apparate there."

"How will you know where to go?" Remus asked, and she paused.

"Ah. I can't really… tell you that. The only one I don't know is the Prewett's."

"Your secrets are tiring," Sirius sighed, though he winked at her. "Hurry up, kitten. We need to do this as quick as possible. We only have a few more hours before midnight."

Alexia rushed out of the room and made her way into the ballroom where she spotted her parents speaking with a tall man she couldn't recognize and…

"Oh, Lexi," Dorea smiled, wrapping her arm around her daughter. "Have you met Cygnus Black and his daughter, Bellatrix?"

"Just the girl we were speaking about," Cygnus said, his piercing stare on Alexia. She forced herself to smile at the man.

"Oh?"

"We were just telling him how close you and James are," Charlus confirmed, looking down at her with worry on his face. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"Yes, of course," she looked up at her parents. "Can I borrow you both for a minute?"

"We'll be right back," Dorea assured Cygnus before leading Alex to a quieter area. "What's wrong, darling?"

"It's the family trees," she told them. "Narcissa told Sirius that they're here to investigate me, so we're going to… Merlin, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're going to break into a bunch of pureblood homes and like… edit them. I don't know. Sirius knows the spell."

Her parents exchanged a look before Charlus spoke. "We trust you, Alexia. But can you ensure that your brother and friends are safe, too?"

She nodded with certainty. "I can."

"And the wards?" Dorea asked her. "They can be very complicated, they're meant to be."

"I spent some time studying under a Gringott's curse breaker," she promised. "We can do this. Besides, there's not much else we can do and there won't be an opportunity like this for a long time."

"Okay," Dorea nodded firmly. "Let us know if you get in trouble, alright?"

"Yes, mum," Alexia stood on her toes and kissed Dorea's cheek and then Charlus's before rushing back out of the ballroom to meet her friends in her room. "Okay, ready?"

"Yeah," James sighed, shoving his wand in his back pocket.

"Sirius, you said we're going to Grimmauld Place first, right?"

"Unfortunately."

"Okay," she looked to her friends. "I can't side-along more than two people at a time, so I'll take Sirius and Remus and come back for you, Jamie."

"Why do I go last?" he whined.

"Because you're distracting and I'd rather not splinch anyone," she shot back as she grabbed Sirius and Remus's hands. She thought about the steps of Grimmauld Place and took them there, wincing at the sight of the place. She hadn't been back since they'd hidden out there and they'd left to get the locket. They'd tried to return but with a Death Eater grabbing onto them, they had to leave again as soon as they arrived. After dropping her friends off, she went back for her brother and apparated back to the steps, where she found Sirius staring at the door in disdain.

"Let's go, Sirius," James said, patting his friend's shoulder. Remus opened the door, which wasn't locked because of the wards, and stepped inside. Alexia looked around in wonder at the brown and green walls.

"Oh my god," she muttered as she followed Sirius into a room she'd seen his future self and Harry talking in. "This is… not as dark as I expected."

"Father refused to let Walburga decorate," Sirius explained, and it did really make sense to her. After Orion had died, Walburga must've redecorated. "It's in here…"

The group of kids entered the room and Alexia looked at the elaborate wallpaper that had the family tree all over it.

"Hey, Lex," James called, tapping the Potter line that was attached to Dorea. "You're here."

She walked over to look at it and stifled a gasp at the sight of her true birthdate. Luckily, James hadn't seen, so she charmed the area black to match the space next to it before he could notice. "Sirius, how do these work?"

"This one updates automatically," he told her, pausing from his search through the books to find the one that held the Potters. "Someone is born - or adopted in your case - and their names and birthdates are added. But what we're looking for here is the books… ah, here we go. Looks like my parents were looking at it, too."

Alexia looked at the wallpaper, her nerves hitching. "I see."

"You okay, Lex?" James asked, touching her arm lightly. At her nod, he turned away, not believing her at all.

"Oh, here you are," Sirius nodded before freezing. "Wait, Lexi-,"

"Let's get this over with," she interrupted him. Their eyes met and she stared him down for a long second before he nodded once, a threat in his eyes of questions to come. He cast the spell, and she sagged with relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied with another glance as he shoved the book back on the shelf with the others.

"Where next?" Remus wondered. Lexi steeled herself and grabbed Remus and James, the two closest to her, and silently sent them away before returning for Sirius, who took a step back when she grabbed for him.

"What the fuck?" he asked her loudly.

"Sirius, you can't say anything," she begged. "Please."

"Your birthdate is eight years from now, Lexi!"

"I know!" she shouted back, moving closer to him. "Please, come on. We have to get this over with. We can talk about it later."

He looked at her for a long, intense minute before he nodded. "If you promise."

"I do," she assured him, grabbing onto his hand. "Now come on."

When they appeared in Malfoy Manor, she felt her panic grow at the sight. It had been, unfortunately, the only room she'd been in and the only way she knew to slip past the wards.

"Lex?" James asked. Remus looked at her in worry as well, but she just pushed past them.

"Can we- can we just get out of here?" she asked, breathing quickly as she nearly ran from the drawing room. When her eyes fell on a familiar spot, she stopped in her tracks and felt her breath leave her. "Oh my god…"

"Alex," Remus winced, grabbing his own chest as her intense emotions rushed into him. "Holy shit, Alex."

"Fuck, Lex, what's wrong?" James asked her, touching her arm. She winced away and backed into Sirius, who grabbed ahold of her to steady her, but his touch startled her too and she stumbled back and fell to the ground.

"Alexia!" James ran to help her up, but she just stared at the ground as her memories raced through her. "Hey, come on. Let's hurry up and go, okay?"

"Leave," she muttered, staring at the spot she'd stayed curled up in a ball for hours. "Leave."

"That's right, kitten," Sirius assured her. "Their books might be in the library. Let's go find it. This looks like the drawing room, so it's probably nearby."

"Leave," she whispered again. James helped her to her feet and she let her friends guide her through the house until they reached the library, where Sirius rushed around until he found the book. He glanced at Alexia again upon seeing the date confirmed once more. Once he'd changed it, he made his way over to Alexia, where James was trying to carefully bring her back to reality.

"Kitten, come on. We can go now, but you have to apparate us out. Just apparate us out and we don't have to come back, okay?"

She looked at him with wide, distant eyes and reached out. Unsure, he grabbed her hand and watched as she grabbed James's as well. She managed to successfully apparate them out and go back for Remus. When they were all there, she looked better and seemed to relax at their surroundings.

"Where are we?" Remus wondered. She gave a soft smile.

"The Burrow," she told them. "The Weasleys live here."

"It's nice," Remus commented with a smile.

"Let's keep going," Sirius suggested, walking in the door to look at the place. It was much cleaner and less cluttered than Alexia had ever seen it before. "There's a bookshelf over here…"

While Sirius looked, James touched Lexi's arm. "Lex, what was that? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… do you remember what I told you that first night? When I freaked out over going to school?"

"Yeah, the… what was it? PTSD?"

"You have PTSD?" Remus asked in surprise. She sighed and nodded.

"I do. And it was triggered and… I'll be okay. I just want to finish this."

"Then I've got some good news," Sirius told her, slipping a book back into the large bookcase. "Done here. Just the Prewetts now."

"Yeah, and I'll need to mess with their wards," she told them. "I'm not sure how to get there either."

"Oh, it's not that far from here, I think," James hummed. "We could probably walk."

"Let's go," she said, leading them out of the house. She smiled once more at it before catching up with her friends.

To her surprise, James was right. It was just before the Lovegood house, and she shivered at the sight.

"Cold?" Sirius asked, handing over his jacket. She accepted it gratefully - she had been cold, though it hadn't been the cause for her shivers.

Once they were able to see the house, she grabbed a rock and threw it, noting where the wards destroyed it. She walked over and began drawing runes and activating them, slowly making an unnoticeable hole that they could walk through. The process took her nearly a half hour and when she was done, she breathed out in relief. "I've never done that before."

"Wait, but you said your friend taught you," James frowned at her. She shrugged.

"I only had their wards to pick at and it was hard because I'd already been keyed in. But we're in, that's all that matters."

Upon entering the house, she smiled softly at a portrait of Fabian and Gideon standing with Molly.

"I wish there was an easier way to do this," Sirius sighed, looking at the rooms.

"Oh," Alex hummed, looking up. " _Accio_ family tree book."

The book flew at her and Sirius caught it thankfully, flipping it open to the Potter page. She glanced over his shoulder and was startled to find that it really did have her birthdate down as September 19, 1979. He removed it quickly and she sent it back before looking at her friends.

"We finished in an hour. Let's get back, Mum and Dad will worry."

"The sooner, the better," Sirius told her with an eyebrow raised. She sighed and grabbed him. After two minutes, everyone was standing back in her bedroom.

"Let's go," she told them, ducking out of the room before anyone could say anything. She felt Sirius rush after her and pull her into a different hallway, waiting until James and Remus passed them to speak.

"Alex, you have to explain."

"Later, okay? After the ball. We can sneak out and go to the library to talk. Just… not now, okay?"

"Tell me, though," he requested, making her pause. "Malfoy Manor. Was that where… the torture?"

She nodded shortly. "And I'll tell you about it _later_. I promise, Sirius."

"You promise?"

She looked in his eyes. "Sirius, I will never promise you anything that I can't keep. So yes, I promise."

"Okay. Okay, let's go."

"Thank you."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Severus watched his friend walk into the ballroom looking absolutely sick. Sirius Black was behind her, his emotions carefully hidden behind a mask that was built for Slytherin. Still, James Potter wasn't as subtle about looking to his sister in worry.

"Whatcha doing?" Lily asked him, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

"Alex is back," he told her. "She brought her brother and friends as well."

"I wonder what they're up to," Lily frowned. "Surely they wouldn't prank at their parents' ball?"

"No, I don't think that's it," he disagreed. "Who knows."

"So you're certain your mum won't be home until tomorrow?"

"Or the day after," he promised. "It'll be okay. She said she wasn't sure she'd be there to see me off."

"Oh, wonderful," Lily smiled before pausing. "Well, not wonderful. I'm sorry. It's just that Lady Potter offered for us to stay here until we leave again."

"Because I want to stay with James Potter."

"You want to stay with me and Lexi," Lily shot back. "What if she does that… _thing_ again and we're not there to help her?"

"She promised she wouldn't try it without me," Severus reminded his redheaded friend. "And it's called Animagus. She'd just found her form. Which is incredible, actually, for her age. She might be the youngest ever."

"What is an animagus exactly?" Lily wondered. "I've never heard of it before."

"Well, it's an old charm that can be done in different ways, but I'd guess Alex went with meditation and runes. You can find your animagus and from then, with practice and guidance, you can shift from human to your animal. Obviously, hers is a fox. Professor McGonagall is a cat."

"That's amazing!" Lily grinned excitedly. "Can you help me learn?"

"I've only heard of it, Lils," he told her with a laugh. "I can't do it. Maybe she can teach you. Although you should know that I don't think she's doing it legally."

"Legally?"

"You have to be registered," he explained. "With the ministry. I doubt she did that."

"Oh," Lily breathed. "Oh no, is she going to get in trouble? Should we talk to her?"

"I doubt it," Severus shrugged. "The ministry doesn't like to act against the Sacred Twenty-Eight. She'll be fine. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll bring it up next time we talk."

"Wait, what's the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

Severus sighed and set down his drink to answer his friend. "It's a group of the twenty-eight oldest and most powerful families in not only Britain but the world. They have family magic that they can call upon and have automatic seats on the Wizengamot. Alexia's dad holds the Potter one."

"That's awful," Lily looked at him with wide eyes. "They get to govern just because their families have strong magic?"

"It's how it is, Lily. But for what it's worth, the families really are very strong and powerful, both with magic and politics."

"Okay, so who else is in this ridiculous club?"

"Club? It's not- okay," he shook his head, looking around the room. "Right. Lady Longbottom holds the Longbottom seat. Her husband died earlier this year."

"Lady Longbottom… Frank's mum?"

"That's her. There's also the Blacks, obviously. The Malfoys. The Weasleys, the Greengrasses, the Notts, and… oh, the Abbots, the Travers… the list goes on, Lils. Some of them have lost their seat and money, like the Weasleys, but most remain powerful."

"That doesn't seem fair," she said stubbornly. "How can they lose their seat if they're so powerful?"

"Ah," Severus rolled his eyes. "I believe the last Lord Weasley gambled his away and then began ranting about how much he hated the system when he lost. The seat was given to Gibbon, and once he passed, it went back to the Ministry appointed officials."

"This is ridiculous."

"Politics are rarely anything but."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sirius stood with Peter again, watching Alexia flit around the room nervously. She had a good enough mask hiding it, but he saw the tension in her shoulders and the anxiety in her eyes. She was standing with Andromeda talking quietly when he saw Bellatrix come to a stop next to them. Alexia froze in her spot, and Sirius's stomach did flips at the sight of her fists clenching until her knuckles turned white.

Without a word to Peter, who was speaking to a Ravenclaw girl, he rushed over to put an arm around his friend. "Cousins. I see you've met Lexi."

"She's very interesting," Andromeda smiled kindly. "She was telling me about this muggle repelling charm she learned."

"Wish we could repel muggleborns as well," Bellatrix joked. Alexia bit her lip hard as she stared at her feet. "What? Can the girl talk or is she mute?"

"Okay, we're gonna go," Sirius told them. "Lovely seeing you, Dromeda. Bella… go to hell."

He pushed her quickly out of the ballroom and into the locked sitting room across the floor. Once he deposited her on a couch, he locked the door again and sat next to her. "Lexi, take a deep breath. It's alright."

"I'm sorry," she whispered through labored breaths. "I saw her earlier and I got away but now- now Andromeda introduced us and she was just… there and I couldn't do it."

"Hey, she doesn't know you," Sirius reminded her. "You're just another pureblood to her. It's okay."

"But it's _not_ ," she insisted. "I was at Malfoy Manor and- and that was the only room I was ever in and I _had_ to drop us there but then I just kept seeing it, Sirius… oh god…"

"Come on, kitten, breathe," he told her as he rubbed her back. "Look around. Yesterday you were sitting in that chair talking to your dad, yeah? What were you talking about, huh?"

"Sirius, I don't-,"

"Just tell me," he requested gently. "What was it?"

"We were talking about the new minister," she replied quickly. "Bagnold."

"Great, that's wonderful. And what do you think of him?"

"Her," she corrected, making him smile a bit. "I think she's cruel and will make terrible, terrible mistakes."

"Good, good. Tell me why."

"Well… she's trying to change 'being' and 'creature' to become the same department, which would deny rights to werewolves, vampires, and even Veela. They couldn't get benefits or healthcare or even be allowed to live among other people. It's absolutely despicable."

Sirius grinned at her. "It is. There you go. How do you feel?"

"Better," she confirmed, though she looked confused. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, it's how I used to call Regulus down after a nightmare," he told her. "Just get him talking about something he feels strongly about."

"Thanks," she smiled softly.

"I'm not going to ask," he told her after a minute of silence. "And we don't have to talk about it tonight if you're not up for it."

She considered him for a long moment before sighing. "No. Let's talk about it now. The party is almost over. Everyone should be distracted by the fireworks. Just… ask me whatever you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay…" he let out a breath. "So you're from the future."

She laughed. "Yes, I am. I'm from 1998. As I said, I was nineteen."

"And when you left, you were at Malfoy Manor?"

"Um, no, actually," she sighed. "There was a war, Sirius. When I left, we'd ended it barely an hour before. We won."

"That's why you were hurt," he realized. She nodded. "How bad was it?"

"Uh," she frowned. "Not that bad. I healed some of my injuries as I went through the battle but truthfully I had a mission to take care of so I stayed out of the fight for the most part."

Sirius, showing his age, asked a question that she actually rolled her eyes at, though she did wince. "Did you kill anyone?"

"Sirius, it was war. We all killed. I was lucky to only have lost a few people. Do you remember how I said Greyback killed my friend's ex?" Sirius nodded with wide eyes. "That happened during that battle."

"I'm sorry," he told her, beginning to understand how insensitive his question was. Truthfully, purebloods were much more mature than the average eleven-year-old, but even Sirius still thought war was cool.

"It's okay. What else?"

"Okay, uh… Bellatrix?"

She winced but held her hand up when he went to take it back. "Bellatrix was one of the ones that tortured me in Malfoy Manor. She's the only one I remembered up until recently. She… used a cursed blade and left me a nasty scar."

"My _cousin tortured you_?" He asked loudly, shooting to his feet in fury, pacing in front of her. "I knew she was a bitch but… what the fuck, Lexi? Did she get arrested?"

"No. It was war," she told him tiredly. "She thought I had something that was hers and was important to ending the war. Apparently, that warranted countless hours of torture and a scar I'll never be able to rid myself of."

"What scar did she give you?" He asked, his voice soft as if he were afraid of her answer. She shook her head firmly.

"That's not something you want to see," she told him. "Ever. No one needs to see it."

"Kitten, come on. It's just me."

"Yes. And you love me and you'll try to kill your cousin if you see it."

"Come on, it's not like she wrote mudblood on your arm-," he cut off when she stared at him blankly. "Oh my god!"

"Calm down!" She held her hands out. "Calm down, okay?"

"Let me see it," he requested. She shook her head and he nodded vigorously. "Let me see it!"

"What good would it do?" She asked him seriously. "You already know it's there and you know how I got it. If you see it, it'll just make you angrier."

"Lexi," he said seriously. "I'm imagining it right now and it can't be worse than I'm imagining."

She let out a sigh and pushed up the sleeve of her dress to reveal the ugly, jagged word that had been carved into her arm. Sirius stared at it silently, and she was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "Sirius?"

He said nothing but reached out to touch it. As much as she hated herself for it, the touch felt nice. She let him touch it for a few minutes before he spoke again. "I'm so sorry."

"Sirius," she let out a small laugh. "You shouldn't be sorry. Knowing you helped me get through it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "For the first week after, I kept thinking of the times you and I talked. The thought of your anger actually made me feel better."

"So we knew each other?"

She smiled softly. "We did. You were my best friend's godfather. We stayed with you for a summer and I wrote to you while I was at school. Yeah, you told me to dump my boyfriend because he couldn't say my name."

Sirius let out a laugh. "You dated someone that couldn't say your name?"

"He was lovely! He spoke English beautifully for it not being his first language." She defended, though she did laugh. "But you spoke with me. When I was afraid of the war, everyone else was too busy for me. You told me I'd be okay and you distracted me by talking about runes and muggle bands and stories from when you were a kid. You were a friend when I really needed one."

He smiled brightly at her. "Sounds like you had a crush on me."

She flushed brightly. It was true, but he didn't need to know that. "I did not!"

"How long have you known me for?"

"Oh," she breathed. It was an innocent question, but all she could think about was how long she _knew_ him, which reminded her only of the day she watched him die. Staring at the boy in front of her, she felt sick. He was her best friend and she couldn't imagine a life without him anymore. "Oh, um… we met in my third year. So… seven- seven years, I guess. Wow."

He frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um… yeah, just… memories."

"What is it?"

"I can't- Sirius, I can't tell you about your personal future, and this is it. I don't want to risk… I don't want to..." she paused. Did she? Normally she didn't want to risk changing the future, but with Sirius… she couldn't let him die.

"Lexi?"

"Sirius, if I told you something, something important, would you take an Unbreakable Vow that you'll avoid it?"

"Woah," he stared at her with wide eyes. "What could be so important that I'd risk my life?"

Alex hesitated. "Your death."

"Oh, shit," he breathed. "Holy shit, Alex, I died?"

She nodded quietly, holding back tears as the sight of him dying played over and over in her mind. "I'm sorry. I was there, I- I watched it. It was horrible."

"How did I die?" He questioned, his voice soft as if he were afraid. In her opinion, he had every right to be scared.

"There was a fight in the Department of Mysteries," she sighed. "In my fifth year. You showed up to help us with some friends and Bellatrix killed you. I tried to help, I promise, but Dolohov was holding me so tight and… I'm sorry."

"You want me to swear not to go," he realized. She nodded quickly and he sighed. She could tell he wanted to agree. "What about time? What will happen?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't want to watch you die. I don't want to go back and you not be there. Sirius, please."

He nodded, and she sagged in relief. "Okay, okay. But we have to have someone else help us with the Vow, Lexi. Does anyone else know?"

"No one that would approve of this. Although…" she paused. "Lucius kind of knows."

"Oh, the _snake_? Really?"

"Hey, it was an accident!" she assured him quickly. "The point is, he knows. He can help."

"Yeah, okay. I'll go get him."

"What? No," she scowled at him. "You make a face at him every time he's around. I'll get him. I'll be right back."

She turned to walk out and as she unlocked the door, Sirius grabbed her arm. "Kitten, wait."

"Huh?"

"Your arm."

She winced at the sight of her scar and pulled her sleeve back down before slipping away. When she reached the ballroom, she found it empty with the doors to the large garden open. There was a warming spell on the area and there were blankets all over the place. The fireworks had begun already and the light helped her navigate until she found Lucius sitting with Severus. "Hey, Lucius, I need some help."

"Is something wrong?" Severus asked her.

"No, no," she shook her head with a smile. "I just need him for a moment."

"Hurry up," her friend told her with a small smile. "It's almost midnight."

She nodded quickly and led a quiet Lucius back to the room where Sirius was waiting. Once inside, she locked the door and warded it from eavesdroppers.

"Alexia, is everything alright?" he asked her, glancing between her and Sirius.

"Yeah, um," she bit her lip. "You know those things you saw earlier?"

"Yes."

" _Well_ , do you remember one memory where you and I fought a little and then Dolohov grabbed me and-,"

"I do," he confirmed, his eyes flicking over to Sirius. "Are you sure we should discuss this here?"

"No, yeah, don't worry. I told him."

"Alexia," he stared at her in shock. " _Why_?"

"Because I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen," she explained.

"You can't," he told her. "We didn't discuss it but I assumed you knew how time travel works."

"At this point in time, no one knows how it works," she argued. "And it doesn't matter. I have to try, Lucius."

"What exactly do you need me for?"

"I was hoping you'd oversee the… Vow he promised to take."

The look he gave her did not give her hope that he'd do it.

"Alexia, he is eleven years old!"

"So am I!"

"No, not really," he reminded her. "You're an adult, regardless of what you look like now. You have memories and learned lessons that he hasn't yet. Vows aren't supposed to be made between minors anyway. It's too dangerous."

"Lucius, please," she begged him. "I need him to live. There's so much I'd change about my life but this… please help me."

"You don't even know it'll work."

"But it's worth trying."

"Fine," he sighed, shaking his head. "Have you written your Vow?"

"I thought it up while I was getting you," she confirmed. "Sirius, come here."

Sirius moved over and Lucius pulled out his wand and touched it to both of their hands once they held one another's forearms. "Go ahead, Alexia."

"Sirius Orion Black, do you swear not to fight Bellatrix Lestrange on the 18th of June in 1996?"

"I do."

"Do you swear not to die?"

Sirius held back a laugh at the ridiculous question. "I do."

Alexia nodded at Lucius, and he muttered the words to confirm the Vow. With that done, tendrils of white flames sunk into both of their arms. They both winced and pulled up their sleeves to see a long black line each running down their forearms.

"Cool! It's like a tattoo!"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Lucius."

"I still do not approve."

"I'll keep it in mind," she laughed. "Really, thank you."

He dipped his head in a nod and looked between them. "May I go?"

"Oh, yes," she blinked, waving away her wards. "Sorry."

"I'll see you in school, Alexia."

She offered him a smile and relaxed when he closed the door behind him. "Thank you, Sirius. This is- this is something."

He nodded, staring down at his arm. "So did you know all of us?"

"Huh?"

"You know, James, Remus, Peter."

"Ah," she frowned. "Yeah, um, Remus was actually my teacher third year. He was the best DADA teacher I had. James was actually my best friend's dad - no, I can't tell you who his mom was - and Peter… we met once."

Sirius grinned at her, eyes wide. "You said I was your best friend's godfather! James is gonna make me godfather?"

"Yes, but you're eleven, so I wouldn't expect him to ask soon," she replied dryly.

He went to reply but stopped as his eye caught the clock over the door. "It's midnight."

Alexia smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for this, Sirius." She touched his shoulder and left the room, leaving him with a weird tingle on his cheek and a tug somewhere deep inside of him that confused and concerned him.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	8. Poisonous Vibration

**Poisonous Vibration**

 _This is the sound we make when in between two places_

 _Where we used to bleed and where our blood needs to be._

 **January 3rd, 1992**

School returned two days later and found most students extremely busy with the mountain of homework they were given. Some students, however, spent their time studying under the Prewett twins and doing homework for those classes instead of their academic classes.

"Look, it's not just about the pranks," Gideon told them seriously. "It's about who is receiving the prank, the intention of the prank, and who is delivering it."

"We often only pull pranks when the school needs a cheer up," Fabian nodded along. "Mostly harmless things. The big stuff we save for friends or enemies."

"Oh, like what?" Peter asked, eyes wide with anticipation.

"Now that's not our lesson today, Pete," Gideon stood, looking to Alexia. "She's a girl. Who can tell me what she's thinking or feeling right now?"

"She's tired," Remus said.

"Because she hasn't been sleeping," James continued with a frown. "Lex, I thought you said you're fine."

"I am, now leave me alone," she snapped, making a face at him. She'd been increasingly irritable since New Year's Eve and her nightmares were almost worse than ever.

"Oh, I know this one!" Sirius laughed. "Now she's annoyed- oh wait, she's just mad now."

"Yeah," Remus agreed. "So shut up."

"Well, Pip, if you haven't been sleeping, we could help out," Fabian told her. She raised an eyebrow.

"The last time I let two pranking twins mess with me, a box punched me and gave me a permanent black eye."

"Woah," Peter looked to her with wide eyes. "How did they do that?"

"Pete, remember how we talked about self-preservation?" James asked, patting his friend on the back. "Let's just back away from her for now, okay?"

"You know what, maybe I'll sit this one out," she suggested. "I'm not in the mood. Someone take notes for me."

"You got it, kitten," Sirius smiled to her as she left the room. The two had been spending more time together since New Year's and their friends had begun to notice.

"What is with you two lately?" James wondered. "You're inseparable and I'm her twin!"

"Nothing," Sirius rolled his eyes. "I can't read her mind like you or Remus do."

"Technically I just read her emotions," the werewolf cut in. "Really James, I haven't noticed anything."

"Does it count for nothing that I'm her twin? I notice these things!"

"Are you four planning on listening or are we all taking the day off?" Fabian asked as he laughed at the group.

"We're listening."

"Definitely."

"Of course we are."

"I don't know, I'm a little tired."

"Pete!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Alexia sat on her bed with the curtains drawn and her legs crossed. She might not be able to sleep, but she could meditate and focus on becoming more familiar with her fox form. She had done so every night and she felt more in tune with the furry creature.

The door opened and slammed shut so suddenly that she let out a screech and sank into her fox form, jumping off the bed.

"Oh my god!" Lily shouted, running back from Alex. "God, Lexi, don't do that!"

She let out a hiss as she tried to change back, but the panic that had led her to shift hadn't dissipated yet.

"Lexi," Lily sighed, walking slowly over. "You told Sev you wouldn't do this without him again. What if you get stuck again? Can you change back right now?"

At Alex's reluctant shake of her head, Lily nodded.

"Okay, let's go. I'll grab my tote and take you to Severus."

She shook her head quicker, but Lily was already on the move. She let out a yelp, which sounded much higher as a fox, and tumbled into the bag Lily stuffed her into. She was jostled and she tried her best to dig her way up to the top of the bag, but Lily pressed it closed with her elbow as she walked - or ran. It stopped suddenly, and she squealed as a hand pressed hard into her. Lily opened the bag and she poked her head up, desperate for air and caught sight of a startled and somewhat angry Severus.

"Alexia," he glared at her as he pulled Lily into a nearby classroom. "You promised me. And she can't turn back?"

"Nope," Lily confirmed. "She's a bit cranky, too."

Lexi yipped at them angrily and jumped from the bag onto a desk.

"I can see that," he agreed, getting on his knees to look at her. "Do you remember how we did it before? Think about your hair. You know how it feels against your skin. Think about when you hold someone's hand. How warm is that? What about when you laugh? Where do you feel it? Your chest? Your stomach? Come on, Alex, you can do it."

After a long minute of stubbornly considering not shifting back, she focused as he asked and found herself falling off a desk, this time human. Neither of her friends helped her up.

"Alex you can't do that!" Lily yelled at her. "It's dangerous!"

"I was _fine_ until you stomped into the room and slammed the door," she shot back. "You startled me."

"Alexia," Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "You promised."

At those words, nearly all of her anger dissipated. "I know. I'm sorry. I just haven't been sleeping and meditating helps me calm down."

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

She shrugged. "Insomnia."

"My mum has that," Lily spoke up. "Hers is almost as bad as Lexi's."

"Well, you should try the timeless sleep spell."

Alex exchanged a look with Lily. "The what?"

"It's like the dreamless sleep spell," he explained. "But it forces your body to sleep and wakes you up at a certain time. You have to cast it with _Tempus_ but it works really well. Mother used to use it when I couldn't sleep."

"I'll look into it," Alex agreed, looking toward the door. "I'm going to-,"

"No," he interrupted her with a frown. "You're going to swear you won't do that without someone around again until you get it down perfectly."

"Sev-,"

"Alex," he stared at her. "That's twice now. What if someone else startles you and they report you to the ministry? You could go to Azkaban."

They both knew it wasn't true, but he had a point. She didn't want too many people knowing what she could do. "Fine. Fine, I'll come to you. Can we do it a few times a week?"

"If you find a private place," he agreed easily.

"I'll stay away from that, thanks," Lily let out a short laugh. "This entire thing freaks me out."

"I know a room," she told him. "Tomorrow night?"

"Yes," he agreed with a firm nod. "After classes."

"Thank you."

"Anything to keep you from doing it alone again."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **February 11th, 1971**

"Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled at her, his eyes twinkling as they always did. "Miss Potter. Sit, sit. Would you like a sugar quill? I was given some but I find I don't like them much."

Alex took one from the old man and placed it in her pocket, waiting. She was in a bad mood again after Sirius and James had pranked Severus. She'd yelled at them and had gotten in a big fight. They still hadn't spoken, and it had been three days.

"Well, I just wanted to see how you're settling in," he explained, his twinkle never fading. The thing infuriated her and it took everything in her not to snap at him.

"It's fine," she agreed.

"You've bonded well with your family and friends," he prompted, and she sighed, giving him a nod.

"I have. I have a familial bond with the Potters and a twin bond with James. Beyond that, Remus views me as pack as well as our friends. Things are going well."

"And has your secret gotten out?"

She pursed her lips. "To two people, but I trust them both completely."

"And who happened upon this secret?"

"Sirius," she began before hesitating. She knew Dumbledore had always hated Slytherins and tended to believe in the prejudice against them. "And Lucius Malfoy. I trust them both, Professor."

"Are you sure it is wise that they know?"

"It wasn't on purpose either time," she defended. "The family tree books had my true birthdate, which meant that Sirius saw them when we went to change it all. As for Lucius… it was not a well thought out idea, I'll admit. I recovered a memory from the final battle where someone I fought called me Alexia. It turns out he's been in every serious battle I've ever been in. He's cursed and tried to kill me multiple times. He nearly did once. And Lucius says he's a second-year right now."

"Who might that be?"

"Antonin Dolohov."

Dumbledore frowned. "I see. We shall keep an eye on him. Tell Professor McGonagall or I if he does anything."

"Professor," she said slowly, thinking. "What do you believe about time? Do you think it's possible to change it?"

"I do not," he admitted. "I believe that your presence here only happened because it was meant to happen- because it already happened for you."

"But I never heard of Alexia Potter," she argued lightly. "And neither did my best friend, and he was James's son. So, how can we be sure that this isn't all new? That I'm not changing time by being here?"

"We cannot be sure. Not until you go back to your own time. Are you prepared for the possibility that things have changed?"

"It just… concerns me. Because the man that sent me back here, he obviously knew I had been here. So I suppose that's evidence that this was meant to happen. But then again, that creates a time loop. How do you think time would handle a paradox, Professor?"

"May I ask why these questions come up now?"

"I'm only telling you because there's nothing you can do about it," she said bluntly, rolling up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal a long black line. "Sirius took a Vow to avoid his death."

"Miss Potter," Dumbledore's eyes widened, staring at her arm. "You have no idea the potential effects of what you've done. What if it changes the world you left? What if you go back to your friends dead or the war still on?"

She faltered for only a second before she shrugged. "We don't know, Professor. And there's nothing we can do about it now. Anything you do to try to fix this will result in changing time either way."

He looked at her for a long minute. His twinkle was gone, and she saw the man that had raised Harry to die and had only given them the information they needed at the last minute. The man that thought he knew best constantly and that was currently disappointed at having no options left to him. "I hope you're prepared for what you go back to, Miss Potter."

"I look forward to it."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sirius sat with his feet up on the coffee table and a bag of marshmallows in his lap, chewing on one as his friends did their homework. He tossed one at Pete, who was sitting on the floor across the room. "Hey, do you think I could fit fifteen marshmallows in my mouth?"

Remus's head shot up and he looked at Sirius with dead eyes. "You're a hazard to society."

James grinned at him. "And a coward. Do twenty."

Sirius let out a laugh and took up the challenge, stuffing one marshmallow into his mouth after another. He was at seven when the portrait slammed shut and Alexia stomped in, her hair sparking angrily as she moved. Sirius paused, exchanging a glance with James as she went to her dorm.

"Are you two really never going to apologize?" Pete asked with a sigh. "It's been a week."

"She's angry right now," James defended. "You want us to talk to her while she's angry?"

"Yeah, maybe apologizing would help," Remus spoke up. "Do you even know why she's angry?"

"No," he admitted. "She's been so closed off to me since our fight. It's like she put a mental barrier up and I can't reach her."

"So apologize," Pete rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous."

"I'm going to bed," Remus sighed, getting to his feet. "The moon is in a couple days and I'm exhausted."

They watched Remus hobble up the stairs in silence as James and Sirius considered their friends' suggestions. After a few minutes, James turned back to his transfiguration, and Sirius let out a dramatic sigh.

"I'll be right back."

He got to his feet and made his way to the bottom of the girl's dorm, where he promptly threw a nearby book at it. A minute later and Alex opened the door, looking annoyed. He put his hands up. "Can we talk?"

She considered him for a moment before closing the door behind her and making her way down the stairs. She didn't stop upon reaching him, and he chased after her as she walked out of the common room and slipped into an abandoned classroom nearby, where she stood and stared at him, waiting.

"Lexi," he sighed, running his fingers through his long hair. "I'm sorry. This is stupid."

"What are you sorry for? That you pranked Severus so cruelly that he had to go to the infirmary or that I've been mad at you for a week for it?"

He seriously considered her question. "I'm sorry for hurting him because he's your friend and I'm also sorry because you've been upset for a week and it's my fault."

She nodded a little. "Okay. I accept your apology. Thank you, Sirius."

"Sorry it took so long," he muttered, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, taking in a deep breath. "Hey, why were you so annoyed earlier?"

She scowled. "Dumbledore called me to his office to talk about how I've been doing. He and I had a talk about time and the effects of your Vow. We… disagreed. I want to hit him."

"Calm down, kitten," Sirius looked at her. "He's harmless. He might disapprove but there's nothing he can do."

"Not about you, maybe," she sighed. "But he can Obliviate Lucius."

"He can't Obliviate a minor," Sirius stared at her. "That's illegal."

"Sirius, he doesn't fucking care," Alexia snapped, turning around to pace. Her hair began to spark again as her nerves and irritation spiked. "You don't know the things he's done, or will do. The only reason he can't touch you is because of your Vow. If he Obliviated you, the Vow would kill you. He wants to preserve time. I want to change it. I'm going to win, Sirius. I don't give a fuck what he does, I'm going to save you."

"Hey, I know," he grabbed her hand and pulling her into a hug. He stroked her hair as she breathed quietly. "I trust you, Lexi. But you're putting too much stress on yourself. You don't have to fight Dumbledore."

She pulled back to look him in the eyes. "I'll fight Bellatrix if it means keeping you alive, Sirius."

Sirius looked at her for a long minute before he placed a kiss on her cheek. "You're incredible."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lily sat in the library with Severus and Alexia, reading the book on purebloods that Lady Potter had given her at Christmas while Severus studied and Alexia flipped angrily through a large, old book, many others piled up next to her.

"Okay, I give. What are you doing?" she asked her friend when Alex raised her wand to the book.

"I'm just trying to… fix something," Alex muttered in response as she cast a spell that edited the book. Lily's eyes widened in horror at the sight.

"Alexia," Lily snapped. "You can't do that."

"Don't worry," she waved her off. "Dumbledore gave me permission."

"Aren't all of these from the restricted section?" Severus asked, picking a book from the pile. "Genealogy for the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

"Mm, yeah," she hummed, dropping the one she was holding back on the table in front of her. Severus picked it up and frowned.

"Gaunt," he read, flipping it open. "They died out years ago, Lexi. What is this about?"

She sighed, staring at the Gaunt book. "I don't know how much I can explain. I'm looking back through the families I'm related to and it keeps leading back to the Gaunts, but further than them…"

"What?"

She looked around before leaning into her friends. "Salazar Slytherin. Also, the Peverell brothers."

"Are you serious?" Severus looked at her in shock.

"Wait, who are they?" Lily wondered. "I get Salazar Slytherin, but who are the Peverell brothers?"

"Well, they're widely considered to be a myth," Alexia began. "Their story is actually the tale of the three brothers. I can't say how much of it is true, but… I believe it to an extent. Anyway, Ignotus Peverell is a Potter ancestor. We actually have - don't tell James I told you this - but we have his cloak of invisibility."

"Lexi, those are just children's stories," Severus argued. "It's not real."

"Believe what you want, I don't care," she waved him off. "My point is, we're related to Salazar Slytherin."

"That's interesting and certainly incredible, but why is it important to you? You're a Gryffindor," Severus pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," she rolled her eyes. "Mum was a Slytherin. But aside from that, Salazar Slytherin was also related to the Gaunt family, much more closely than the Potters."

"And why is that significant?"

Lexi faltered. Voldemort had only just emerged after Christmas and there was no press coverage over it so far. There was no easy way to explain to her friends why it was important. The truth was that she wanted to find out if Harry was a parseltongue because of Voldemort or if it was because he was related to Slytherin himself. The issue with that, of course, was that it meant that Harry was related to Voldemort as well.

The entire thing hurt her head, and she somewhat regretted looking through the books. Though there was another reason she was looking through them - she needed to edit her birthdate out of the books at Hogwarts, which she'd forgotten about until Lucius had brought it up to her.

"Well, the Gaunt family is actually interesting. There's only one remaining member, and he doesn't have the family name. His story is somewhat… depressing."

"What's his story?"

"His name is Tom Riddle," she told them, shivering at the name. "His mother was Merope Gaunt. She had a brother named Morfin and a father named Marvolo. They were purebloods but Merope fell in love with a muggle. Thing is, he didn't like her, so she gave him a love potion every day until they got married and she got pregnant. Her dad and brother hated her for it. When she got pregnant, she figured he had to love her so she stopped giving him the potions."

"Oh, no," Severus sighed.

"What?" Lily looked between them.

"Well, love potion doesn't produce true love," Lexi explained. "That's impossible. It's actually a very despicable potion. Think of it this way. If you're given a love potion, you don't get to control your thoughts or emotions. The potion guides them."

"And she gave this to him and they… had sex?" Lily asked, disgusted and horrified. Lexi nodded firmly.

"Awful, isn't it? So she stopped giving him the potion and of course, he didn't want her anymore. They got divorced and she ran away, having been turned away by her family. She ended up at an orphanage where she died giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle. He grew up there until Dumbledore got him from the orphanage. Honestly, he was an evil bastard, and he's showed up again recently."

"How do you know all of this?" Severus wondered, flipping open the Gaunt book to look at where Salazar Slytherin's line broke off between the Gaunts and the Potters.

"Research," she shrugged. "He's actually… he reinvented himself as a man named Voldemort. Dad says the ministry is keeping an eye on him."

"What's he doing?" Lily questioned, marking another question down on her homework.

"He's gathering followers, people that don't like muggleborns or muggles," she sighed. "He hates them. I don't know much else, but Dad sounded worried. Like I said, he's an evil bastard."

"That's awful," Lily stared at her in concern.

"But wait, what are you doing to the books?"

Alexia shrugged and picked up the Black book, the last one she had to edit. "Just a project for Dumbledore."

"Do you ever do your homework?" Lily joked, trying to focus on her books. Lexi rolled her eyes and set back to work, humming quietly in contentment as she sat with her friends.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **April 9th, 1972**

Sirius sat next to Lexi and James with Peter and Remus across from him. Remus was leaning his head against the back of the couch while everyone else was caught up in their own thing. Sirius himself was trying to balance his wand on his nose. When it sat there still, he let out a laugh. "Remus, look!"

"Yes, Sirius, very nice."

Sirius scowled and dropped the wand into his hand. "That was extraordinary."

"What was?"

"How you saw that magnificent act without even looking."

Remus turned to look at his friend as he rolled his eyes. "I'm looking, do it again."

As Sirius put the wand back on his nose, Lexi leaned her head on James's shoulder quietly. "Jamie, are we going home for Easter?"

"Mum wrote me saying we're staying here with Sirius," James sighed. "Dad's got a bunch of work stuff and Mum has been working non-stop with the Wizengamot."

"No one stays for the holidays," she whined. "It's going to be so quiet. Remus, are you staying?"

"Yep," he sighed. "The moon is the day before Easter."

"I'm staying, too," Pete spoke up. "My parents are on vacation in France."

"At least we'll be together," Sirius said, dropping his wand on his lap.

"It won't be that bad, Lex," James assured her, intertwining their fingers. "Why don't you try sleeping? You're exhausted."

"Am not."

"Are too," he rolled his eyes, shoving her gently off the couch. "Go sleep. We're probably going to bed soon, too."

"We are?" Pete asked.

"We are," James confirmed. "We've got things to do early tomorrow morning."

"Things you haven't told me about?" Lexi paused, looking between her friends and brother. "You're not pranking Severus again, are you?"

"No," James rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it, Lex."

"Fine, but you'd better not do anything stupid."

"Sure, kitten," Sirius laughed. She let out a sigh and made her way up the stairs, ready for bed.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 _Hermione dashed behind a pillar of fallen rock as the curse hit it. She was being chased by Crabbe and Goyle, and Goyle had already hit her with a_ crucio _once. They weren't giving up, and she was trying to get to the Room of Requirement._

 _The two boys were gaining on her as her injuries shook her body. She tried to put up a shield but an_ Avada _passed right through it, barely missing her. When she turned another corner, she was horrified to find herself at a path blocked by giant chunks of stone and broken glass. There was no way through._

" _You don't need to do this," she tried to reason. "Just move on. You don't have to fight for him. Voldemort will never value you."_

" _I don't give a shit about that," Goyle snarled, his wand pointed at her. "This is what I like."_

 _She let out a scream as his_ crucio _passed through her shields. She tried to send a curse back at him to stop it but she couldn't move her hands. It lasted for maybe five minutes before it ended abruptly and when she managed to look up, she saw a head of platinum blonde hair dragging the two boys away from her._

Alexia shot up, gasping for breath and shaking violently in pain. The nightmare was hard to watch, not because she'd seen herself be tortured but because Goyle had died. She wondered for a moment why Draco had saved her from the two boys, but she shook the thought away, unwilling to dwell on the war more than necessary.

Still shaking, she did the only thing she knew that would help calm her down. She crossed her legs and began meditating. Clearing her mind was possibly the hardest part of it. Once she finished pushing away the random thoughts and worries that plagued her, she could see her fox form. She'd truly come to love it. It was playful but also deadly serious, and it felt so much like her that she knew she'd made the right choice.

Just as she was examining the form, a hint of her nightmare slipped into her mind and she gasped as she shrunk down into a fox.

She sat there, irritated. She did understand why Severus wanted her to do it only with him, and she'd promised twice and broken the promise twice. She knew she couldn't face him, so she jumped out of bed and ran out of her dorm and into the boys' dorm, where she could see James sleeping peacefully.

She jumped up into his bed and put a paw on his face to wake him. She realized it was a bad idea when he let out a scream and tumbled out of bed.

Three wands lit up in response and Pete rushed to James to help him up, while James screeched about a furry thing in his bed. Sirius glanced over and blinked.

"That's a fox!"

Remus stared at her with narrow eyes, and she could see his wolf inside, looking at her through Remus. Her friend got out of bed and stepped over, holding a hand out to her. She nuzzled his hand and closed her eyes.

"It's Alexia."

"I'm sorry, _what_?" James shouted.

"Relax," Remus sighed, picking Alexia up. "She's obviously been working on becoming an animagus."

"How can you tell it's her?" Pete wondered cautiously.

"First of all, she was in James's bed. Second, I can feel her annoyance. And third, we have a pack bond. She's my beta. And my wolf is going crazy right now."

"Oh," Sirius breathed out a sigh of relief as he made his way over. "Well change back!"

She growled and jumped from Remus's arms to walk to James and nudge his leg. James's eyes widened. "Oh, I don't think she can."

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Peter gaped. "She can't just be stuck like this!"

"I'd imagine that's why she came to us," Remus reasoned. "I personally don't know how to help. Sirius, go get McGonagall."

Alexia let out a sort of bark in protest and was swiftly ignored as Sirius put on his slippers and ran from the room. While he was gone, the remaining four piled onto James's bed, where Alexia curled into Remus's lap and listened to his heartbeat.

Ten minutes later, Sirius returned with an irritated McGonagall.

"Mister Black, tell me what's going on right now or- oh," she gasped. "Is that a- is that a fox?"

James nodded quickly. "It's Alexia. She can't turn back."

"Well, how did this happen?" She questioned as she moved over to them.

"We don't know," James shrugged. "She just came and woke me up like this."

"I think she's been working on becoming an Animagus," Remus explained. "My, uh, my wolf recognized her in this form before I did."

"How?" McGonagall asked in surprise.

"Well… she's my beta, and so in her animal form, my wolf recognizes that," Remus shifted, uncomfortable explaining himself.

"Well, I'm afraid this is going to hurt," the woman sighed. She pointed her wand at Alexia and cast a spell, which turned her back to her normal human self. She let out a cry of pain as she rolled off of Remus and into Sirius, who grabbed her to steady her. "Miss Potter, what were you thinking? This is extremely irresponsible, not to mention illegal."

"Professor Dumbledore gave me permission," she said immediately. She knew the man would back her up despite the lie.

"Well, regardless, this was reckless and dangerous. I may not be able to punish you for doing it but I can and will punish you for putting yourself at risk by doing it alone. A month of detention, twice a week. Wednesday and Friday."

"Professor-,"

"No, I won't hear it. You'll help Professor Slughorn's second years tutor your classmates."

"Yes, Professor."

"Now, the next time you do this, you will do it in my office."

Alexia shook her head. "I was only doing it because I had a nightmare and needed to calm down. I can't come every time I have a nightmare."

"Then you will find something else to do after a nightmare," the woman told her. "I will teach you a spell to help with those as well. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

The boys watched as their head of house escorted Alexia back to her dorm. With them gone, Sirius grinned brightly. "We're gonna become Animagi!"

Remus groaned. "Sirius, we just saw exactly why that's a bad idea."

"No, but Lexi used a method that takes longer," he denied. "We can do one that doesn't involve meditation. As soon as we can shift, we should be fine."

"I kinda like the idea," Peter agreed.

James was quiet as he stared at Remus. "I agree. We're going to do it."

Remus sighed and went back to his bed, where he promptly ignored his friends for the rest of the night.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **April 21st, 1972**

Alexia stepped into the classroom and set her books down with a sigh. It wasn't filled with students but rather trophies for potion making. The sight annoyed her. She didn't mind tutoring students, but she did mind cleaning trophies.

"Ah, Miss Potter," Slughorn grinned as he stepped out of his office. "Looks like you'll be joined in detention by Mister Malfoy once more."

"Professor McGonagall said I'd be tutoring students," she told him with a frown.

"Ah, yes, but my study group filled up before she assigned the detentions. No matter. You'll be shining my trophies and then you can do your homework. The things are on my desk. Mister Malfoy should be here any minute. If you'll just tell him what I've told you."

She nodded and watched as the man turned on his heel and closed his office door behind himself. She let out a sigh and set to work polishing the trophies.

It was five minutes later when Lucius made his way into the room. Her gut churned. She'd avoided him as best as she could since Christmas break, but they were stuck together in detention for hours. Nothing good could come of that.

"Alexia," he greeted in surprise, setting his bag on a chair.

"Hello," she waved her rag at him. "We're polishing his trophies. Which… there are a _lot_. I didn't even realize they gave trophies for potion making."

"It's a competitive craft," Lucius nodded as he grabbed a trophy and supplies. The pair worked in silence for a long minute before she couldn't take it anymore.

"You're really not going to ask."

He looked up at her and paused his rhythmic motions. "I can't imagine you want to talk about that."

"I'd rather talk about it than avoid you for four months."

"That was on you," he reminded her. "I was content just to move on."

"You must have questions."

"Many," he agreed.

"So ask them," she urged him, setting down her things to pay attention to the conversation. He considered her before he spoke slowly.

"You are from the future."

"Yes."

"You are not twelve years old."

"Yes."

"Okay, begin there. How old are you really?"

"I was nineteen when I left. It's complicated. This potion makes me _feel_ eleven, but I've got all the memories of a nineteen-year-old."

"Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"I did, for six years."

"Not seven?"

Alexia shook her head. The question threw her off and she felt ridiculous for getting emotional at it. "There was a war. I was being hunted. School wasn't safe anymore."

"There was a war," he repeated. "Sirius died."

"Yes, that was before the war really broke out, but he was killed by the same people we fought," she explained. "But I'm going to save him."

"You already know I disapprove."

"You already know I don't care."

He studied her. "So there was a war. We fought?"

"We did," she agreed. "There were a few more fights than the one you saw but you never hurt me too bad. I also never managed to hit you. As much as you were my enemy, I respected you for how amazing of a duelist you were. Are. You're not dead, I'm just… this stuff is confusing to talk about. I'm just glad Sirius hasn't asked many questions. Mostly about whether or not he becomes a famous Quidditch player."

"Who, of the people you know here, do you know in the future?"

"Lucius," she bit her lip. "There are things I can't tell Sirius because they're too close to him. I'm going to tell you these things."

"Okay."

"I didn't know James or Lily, but they had a son, and he was my best friend. A brother. I met Peter once, but only as he ran away after being caught by Sirius and Remus because he betrayed James and Lily and got them killed. I met Sirius then too. Remus was my professor that year. Um… I knew you, but I mostly knew your… son. We, ah, went to school together. I knew of many people. Regulus Black, Marlene, Mary. There's more. Um… I obviously knew Dolohov. There's some others."

"And we fought one another in this war."

"We did."

"Who won?"

The blunt question surprised her. "I did. Your leader died and you only left at the last moment with your family, but I did see you leave."

Lucius hesitated. "How long?" His question was vague but she felt the subject shift and knew he was asking about Malfoy Manor.

"I don't know. I passed out a few times. Many hours. Seven maybe."

"How did this happen? Arriving in the past?"

She scowled as she did every time she remembered. "Someone else I knew was Severus. He was my potions Professor for a long time and then he was the headmaster, but only after I left school. He was a- oh, I don't think I should tell you that. Anyway, when the war was over, that bastard came and sent me back into time after telling me that _I_ told him to do it."

"And you're angry with him for that."

"Yes," she agreed before frowning. "No. I don't know. He's an ass in the future."

"What's your plan? How long will you be here?"

"Until 1979," she sighed. "I imagine I'll leave before I'm born."

He quieted down and she picked up her rag again and went back to polishing while he thought. He was just as calm as she expected, and she appreciated it.

"Tell me about the war," he requested. She looked at him in surprise.

"No."

"Alexia," he said, a tone to his voice she'd never heard before. "I'd like to know what my future holds."

"So would I."

"Alexia… please."

The word caught her off guard and she found herself nodding slowly. "It starts in a couple years and ends for thirteen years in 1981. It ends again on May 2nd, 1998, this time for good."

"What is it about?"

"Bigotry. This man, Voldemort, hates muggles and muggleborns. Half-bloods are barely okay, which is hilarious because _he_ is a half-blood. He gathers followers like you and Sirius's parents and even his brother. All the old, powerful, dark aligned families. He recruits all sorts. Giants, werewolves, acromantula, you name it. There are attacks and a lot of people die. A lot of good people. In my time, my best friends and I are at the center of the war. Everyone wants to kill my best friend and we're just there to help keep him alive. There were attacks on so many families that I Obliviated my parents and sent them to Australia. They'll never remember me. I had to keep them safe… I don't even know if they're actually safe. I never had time to check on them."

He nodded a little as he processed her words. "How long did you fight for?"

"Oh, wow," she breathed. "I guess it depends where you imagine the war starting. My friends and I fought Voldemort from our first year. He had been killed but was living as a shade, possessing our DADA teacher to try and get the philosopher's stone. Second year- I can't tell you that but they fought him again. I'd been petrified. Fourth year, he finally came back to life fully. Fifth year, we fought at the Department of Mysteries and Sirius… well, Harry fought Voldemort there afterward. And sixth year his followers broke into Hogwarts and fought us. The entire school had to evacuate and we lost the school. After that… we went on the run. Being chased. It only ended the day I was sent back here, and now I'm here again during his first rise to power… oh," she sucked in a sharp breath as she began to realize the true possibility that she might fight in the war again.

"You've fought your entire life," he summed up. "You must be tired."

"I… am," she admitted. "The final battle was cruel and it still haunts me, but I thought, you know, I thought that was it. I was done." He didn't reply and she looked up to see more emotion on his face than she'd ever seen before. "Lucius?"

"I apologize," he looked to her again. "I just cannot fathom fighting a war for someone so despicable, and I cannot imagine hurting you, much less watching you be tortured and doing nothing about it."

She shifted, the words making her uncomfortable. "I don't understand it either. You're my friend."

"Alexia," he said, meeting her eyes. "I am very, very sorry."

Alex tensed and shook her head firmly. "You don't get to do that. I'm sorry, but you can't feel guilt over something you haven't done yet, and you also don't get to offer me an apology when _you don't know why_ _you did it_. It kills me to remember that you were there because I don't understand. So don't apologize until I get back. You can explain it to me then."

"That's over twenty years away," he told her wide eyes. "Alexia-,"

"Please," she whispered. "I can't handle it. I'm trying to focus on the fact that you're my friend and I care for you but remembering seeing you there… I can't do it."

He sighed and dipped his head in agreement. "Dolohov and Bellatrix, have they been arrested in your time?"

She frowned. "Bellatrix was killed when she threatened my friend. Her mom got pissed and killed her. As for Dolohov, I'm not sure. I don't remember seeing him at the end, and all the followers were gathered together across from us. I think he may have fled as you did."

Lucius set aside another trophy and began working on the next one. "Tell me something good from your life."

Lexi smiled at the request and thought about it. "My friend Ron has a big family and his two older brothers sort of see me as a sister. During the summer they and Sirius sat me down and tried to give me the sex talk."

Lucius let out a startled laugh. "Three people?"

She nodded quickly. "Apparently, a muggle sex talk is different. They taught me the spell and Sirius gave me the potion, and then they began essentially threatening to beat up any guy that ever hurt me. Which is funny, because they followed through."

"They beat someone up for you?"

She grinned. "Just the brothers. They beat up their brother, my friend, for hurting my feelings when I had a crush on him."

He smiled at her, laughter in his eyes. "Tell me something else."

"Oh, okay. Well, I spent the entire summer before fifth year reorganizing the library at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and Remus and we put all of the dark books in Walburga's bedroom. There was one day when everyone else went to a friend's house to clean and we snuck out to muggle London for ice cream… irresponsible, yes, but it was fun. Remus made Sirius take a polyjuice potion using a hair from a hairbrush… he ended up looking like his dead mother."

Lucius let out a laugh. "I'd love to see that."

Alexia nodded with a fond smile. She moved onto another story, and the pair got back to work. For the next few hours, they sat together while she told him of the good times in her life, and in return, he told her of the times he'd snuck out of Malfoy Manor during his lessons to wander muggle London. It was calming, and she was endlessly grateful to him for making the conversation easier.

OoOoOoOoOoOo


	9. Straight Chlorine

**Straight Chlorine**

 _Sippin' on straight chlorine_

 _Let the vibe slide over me._

 **June 13th, 1972**

"Moony," Sirius called, looking to the tired werewolf. "Remind me again why we're not giving Lexi a nickname?"

"Sirius, when you met her, you called her kitten and she glared at you and told you she hates nicknames," James reminded his friend as he scribbled down ideas.

"I'd like to request a different nickname," Remus groaned, looking up from his book. "I hate Moony. I hate the moon."

"Suck it up, Moony," Peter rolled his eyes. "Yours is better than Wormtail."

Sirius giggled.

"Not sure what to do for Sirius," James admitted. "Can't we just call him Paws?"

"No," Sirius scowled. "I need something cooler."

" _I_ need something cooler!" Peter huffed.

"At least your nickname doesn't sound like a dick joke," James glared. "Prongs is ridiculous."

"I think it fits you."

Sirius let out a girly screech and pulled the blanket over his bare chest. Alexia rolled his eyes and made her way into the room while Sirius threw a pillow at Remus, who was laughing at him.

"We're trying to figure out Sirius's nickname," James told her, tapping his notepad. "He shot down Paws."

"Because it's dumb," she rolled her eyes, lying on Sirius's bed and putting her head in his lap. "I have an idea."

"What's that, kitten?"

"Padfoot."

The group paused for a moment and before she could do anything, Sirius leaned down and placed an excited kiss on her cheek. "It's perfect!"

"That's not fair," Peter whined. "He's the only one that likes his nickname."

"I've got it," Sirius narrowed his eyes at Lexi. "Ash."

"Excuse me?" she raised an eyebrow at him. Her gaze slid over to Remus, who looked like he was surprised. "What is he talking about?"

"He wants to give you a nickname, too," the boy explained. "Actually… I like it."

"Why Ash?" she scrunched up her nose.

"Because you've got an ashy tail," James explained for his best friend. "Yeah, I like it, too."

"I thought I wasn't joining your little boys' club."

"There's no club without you, kitten," Sirius grinned. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and what are we called?"

"Marauders!" James told her excitedly. "I found it in a dictionary. Mischief is our thing, Lex. It fits."

"I guess it does," she sighed. "I just thought you guys wanted to do this alone."

"You're one of us," Remus told her in confusion.

"You're my twin," James agreed, looking hurt. "Do you not want to…?"

"I do," she assured him. It was true. She just had to remember to put a spell on the Marauders Map to conceal her from Harry and the twins. "I promise, Jamie, I do."

"Good," Sirius grinned. "Put Ash on there too, Pete."

"What?"

"The doorframe," Sirius explained. "We're carving our names in."

It took everything in her not to wince. She'd known their names were there - Harry had shown her and Ron in their fourth year. Still, defacing school property made her cringe, which was ridiculous considering the fact that she'd blown up parts of the school during the war. There was one wall in particular that she'd thrown an acromentula attacking Ernie Macmillan into.

"Lex?" James asked, touching her arm. She jumped. She hadn't even realized he'd moved over to her. "You alright?"

"Lost in thought," she replied easily, brushing his hand away. "So, is that everyone? What are your nicknames?"

"Prongs," James sighed.

"Jamie, it makes sense," she told him, waving to above his head. He made a face at her but pointed to Pete.

"Wormtail."

"Yikes," she winced, though the name brought up the hatred she held for the man. She'd suppressed it for so long, choosing to befriend the boy while still hating the man that had caused her best friend so much misery. James tilted his head at her and she waved him off.

"Moony," Remus sighed. Lexi offered him a sympathetic smile.

"And you guys can fully shift without any problems?" she wondered, looking between her friends.

"Yep," Sirius replied, popping the 'p'. "Wanna see?"

She shook her head. She hadn't seen Padfoot yet and she definitely didn't want him to shift while she was sitting on his bed with him. "I hope you guys are done packing. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"I know, Lex," James sighed dramatically. "We're not stupid, you know."

She hummed. "Remus isn't. Remus is brilliant."

While the werewolf grinned at her, a chorus of three offended protests sounded. She let out a laugh and leaned her head back to look up at Sirius, who was running his fingers through her hair absently.

"You okay? I'm worried about you going home."

"You and me both, Ash," he sighed. "But there's not much I can do about it. Besides, it's not for that long. Just a few months."

"I know," she muttered, looking at his worried face. "Just write if it gets too bad, okay?"

"Of course."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **June 23rd, 1972**

"Lex! Help me!"

Alexia poked her head out the door and giggled at the sight of James playing tug of war with a gnome, trying to win his wand back from the thing. "You've got it, Jamie! Put your back into it!"

He let out a screech when the gnome let go of the wand and stomped on his foot before biting his nose and running off. "That fucking hurt."

"James Charlus," Dorea scolded. "Language."

"Lexi swears all the time!"

"She's smart enough not to do it around me," his mother winked as she froze the gnome and got rid of it. James pouted and walked over to the table where his mother and sister sat with books and lemonade.

"Why doesn't she have to do this again?"

"Because she's not the one in trouble."

"I apologized!"

Lexi scoffed. "Sirius apologized and I let it go because being angry with you is too much energy. You still hexed Severus."

"Mum, it was months ago," James whined as he took a sip of Lexi's drink. She smacked his hand away and set her cup on the other side of the table.

"And I just found out about it today," Dorea raised an eyebrow. "Now go finish de-gnoming the garden. There's an hour until dinner."

"Yes, mum."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **July 13th, 1972**

Charlus, Dorea, and Alexia sat across from Dumbledore and a man named Bertie Croaker, who was in charge of the Department of Mysteries. There was a tense silence, and it was only broken by the sparking of Alexia's hair.

"Miss Potter, if you would just allow me to explain-,"

"I literally do not give a single shit what you have to say," she snapped. To her surprise, neither of her parents yelled at her. "This was not your secret to tell, Dumbledore. You're trying to use me for this war, and I'm fucking done with it. I played along as a kid, I gave you and this war my entire childhood. Get out of my house."

"Okay," Charlus put a hand on her shoulder. "Take a deep breath, dear. What he did was wrong, but I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

"I did not," Dumbledore agreed in a rush. "I simply thought that perhaps there are things you believe you can share that will not effect the outcome of the war."

"Sir," she scoffed at him, fire in her eyes. "Do you consider yourself to be an open person? Do you share every plan and detail with those around you? Because I know, for a fact, that you do not. The fact that you believe I know when and what you knew is laughable. And I would laugh, but I'm angry."

"If there are things you can offer us that you do not believe will affect the war, then perhaps-,"

"Fine," she snapped, getting to her feet. She waved her wand. " _Accio_ Gaunt book." The book flew down the stairs, and she caught it in her hand and passed it over. "His name is Tom Riddle. I believe you retrieved him from the orphanage?"

"Tom," Dumbledore breathed, staring at the page she'd opened for him.

"Yes. He's reinvented himself as Lord Voldemort. That's all I will give you."

Dumbledore's eyes scanned the page before they paused. "Salazar Slytherin."

"He's the last heir," she confirmed. "He likely has an heirloom or two. Is that all?"

"It is. Again, my dear, I apologize."

She scowled at him and stormed from the room.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **July 27th, 1972**

James opened the door and grinned at Remus, who looked exhausted. "You're here!"

"I said I would be, Prongs," Remus rolled his eyes as he walked inside. "Where is everyone else?"

"Mum and Lexi are showing them their rooms," James answered, running up the stairs. "Yours is next to Lexi's and Pete's is next to mine."

"Is he here yet?"

"He'll be here later," James replied, dropping Remus's trunk in his room. "Let's go help dad!"

"What is he doing?"

"He's setting up the pool," he grinned.

"Don't you guys have a pond that you swim in?"

"Yeah, but Lily told Lexi that her parents refused to get a pool and dad thought it would be cool to get one."

"Are there- are there no pools in the wizarding world?" Remus asked. He lived in a muggle area and knew plenty about the muggle world.

James shook his head. "We have magic. If we want to swim, we just make ponds in our backyards or something. But dad thought a pool would be cool, especially because Lexi said the chemicals smell good. I just don't understand why there's chemicals in the water."

"Chlorine? It helps keep the pool clean," Remus answered as they went outside to see Charlus waving his wand to put the pool up.

"Why don't you boys go get everyone else? I'll be done in just a minute," Charlus told them. "Pixie!"

"Pixie is here," the elf announced after popping in.

"Please help me add the water and chemicals."

The boys ran off as the man and the elf got to work spraying the water in together. Once inside, they made their way to Lexi's room where they found her sitting with Lily and Severus, as well as Marlene McKinnon, Mary McDonald, and Alice Avery.

"Ash, dad said he's almost done," James told him.

"Okay," she sighed. "Out, boys."

Fifteen minutes later, and everyone had gotten into their swimsuits. Pete had arrived and joined them, and they all met outside, where the pool had been filled and snacks and drinks sat on the table on the patio.

Alexia had placed a Notice-Me-Not charm as well as a modified muggle repelling charm on the majority of her scars, which had taken her and Dorea nearly two hours to do the night before. She'd considered not joining her friends at all, but at the insistence of her mum, she caved and put on her swimsuit.

"Why does it smell weird?" Alice wondered, screwing up her face.

"That's the chlorine," Lily laughed, jumping into the pool. "Don't worry about it, it won't hurt you."

James let out a shrill scream when Alexia shoved him in, and she burst out laughing when he managed to get his head above water to glare at her. "I'll get you back for that, Ash."

"You can try," she snorted.

"Her reflexes are pretty intense, mate," Remus reminded him. "Good luck."

"Then help me!"

"No way."

Peter, however, was on James's side. Alexia barely had time to duck and shove the boy in before he could reach her. When he also popped his head up, she smirked.

From then on, it became a game to try and shove her in the water. No matter what anyone did, she managed to avoid it. One time when Marlene went after her, she almost got her, but Lexi stopped her fall with wandless magic, to the complaints of her friends, who considered it cheating.

Once everyone was pruned and tired, nearly four hours later, they were called out for a late lunch. Two elves popped in with towels for everyone and led them into the kitchen where sandwiches and lemonade sat waiting for them, as well as brownies that were on the counter being held hostage by Dorea until they finished their lunch.

The rest of the day was spent in the pool. When some got tired of it, they went flying through the garden, and a small game of Quidditch was played between James, Remus, Marlene, and Alice with Peter as a commentator while Lily, Severus, Mary, and Alexia sat in the living room playing wizard's chess and talking about school.

"What do you think we're going to learn next year?" Lily asked excitedly while Alexia narrowed her eyes at Severus, who was taking his turn. She'd gotten better at the game during her time on the run, but she was losing to her friend, a fact that angered her greatly.

"Haven't you read your books yet?" Mary joked. Lily made a face at her.

"I haven't had time. My parents took us on vacation with Petunia's gross boyfriend and I've focused all of my energy on not hexing him."

Lexi looked at her curiously. "What's his name?"

"Vernon," Lily scowled. "He's disgusting."

Lexi didn't reply as she glared at Severus. He just rolled his eyes at her. "You're too competitive for this."

"I don't understand how you're so much better than I am!"

"I've been playing with Mother since I was small," he explained. "Strategy is easy once you understand it."

She wanted to laugh. She _got_ strategy. She won a war for Merlin's sake. There was just something about Wizard's chess - or regular chess, for that matter - that rubbed her the wrong way and threw her off her game. "Lils, wanna take over? I'm too annoyed for this."

"Sure," Lily agreed, moving from her place next to Mary on the couch. "But really, what do you guys think we'll learn?"

"Not sure," Severus replied. "Potions is going to get harder now, though. Last year was just learning the fundamentals, this year we get to actually brew."

"Oh boy," Lexi sighed. "I'm no good at brewing."

"You're great with theory," Severus told her. "Like I said last year, I'll help you."

She offered him a smile and plucked a book off the table she'd left it on earlier. It was about the Wizengamot and how they handled trials after Grindelwald. She'd been curious since she'd gotten to the past about how the trials would go for the Death Eaters. It was harder now, she thought. It seemed that the American government had helped to keep the British Ministry of Magic in check. It hadn't been taken over the way that it had been by Voldemort. Which meant that they'd likely lock up the Death Eaters while they scrambled to find the required officials to hold trials and then prosecute them.

"What're you reading that for?" Mary asked, startling her.

"I was curious," she replied shortly. "I found it in our library and wondered what happened after the war."

"I heard they offered Dumbledore Minister and he turned it down," Mary told her. "He just wanted to keep teaching."

Lily raised an eyebrow and looked around Severus. "Why would they do that? What are you talking about?"

"The war of Grindelwald," Alexia told her. "It happened in the twenties. He wanted to get rid of the statute of secrecy and basically rule over the muggles. Dumbledore supposedly fought him and won in the end, but I also heard that in the beginning, they worked together. I think Dumbledore was in love with him and Grindelwald didn't feel the same?"

"Wait, he's gay?" Lily's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah," Mary nodded along. "I heard the same thing. I also heard that he might've killed his sister."

"Arianna?" Lexi blinked in shock. It made a bit of sense now why Aberforth held so much hatred for his brother as well as why Albus never mentioned his family.

"Yeah. She was in between Dumbledore and Grindelwald while they were fighting and someone killed her. It's just a rumor, but my dad believes it."

"Are we still playing?" Severus drawled, gaining Lily's attention once more. She blushed and nodded hurriedly and returned to her game, leaving Lexi to ponder Mary's words quietly.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **August 9th, 1972**

"Lex, what's that?"

Alexia looked at James, who had barged into her room with no warning. He was pointing at her left arm, which was bare along with her right arm. She shoved her right arm under a blanket to cover her scar and stared at the long black line on the left one. "What?"

"Holy shit, did you get a tattoo?" he yelled, rushing over. His face fell upon grabbing her arm. "It's boring."

"It's not a tattoo," she smacked his hand away. "Go away, Prongs."

"Tell me what it is or I'm gonna tell Mum," James threatened. She glared at him.

"Fine. But you have to swear on your magic not to tell anyone."

"Just tell me!"

"I took part in an Unbreakable Vow," she admitted.

"Alexia!" He gasped. "You can't break those!"

She just stared at him.

"You'll die if you break it!"

"I didn't make the Vow, I just helped seal it," she told him, annoyed. "I'll be fine."

"Then who did? Oh, Mum's gonna be _pissed_. This isn't from before, is it? I haven't noticed it until now."

"James Charlus Potter, you will _not_ tell Mum!"

"Won't tell me what?"

Lexi groaned. "It's nothing, mum."

"Alexia Dorea Potter," the woman narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"

"I promise I know what I'm doing," she lied. At the glare she received, she glanced to James. "Fine, but he has to leave."

"Go, James."

"Mum!"

"James!"

The boy pouted and left the room, leaving Alexia alone with her mother.

"It has to do with fixing something in the future," she said slowly before shoving her arm forward to show her mother the black line. The woman let out a small gasp and shook her head in disapproval.

"You're trying to change the future," she pursed her lips. "Alex, you have no way to know what will change. What if it changes something much bigger than you expect?"

"I know, Mum, but I can't… I had to do something. There's so much I want to fix, but this… I think this I can fix."

"What is it?"

"I don't know if I should…"

"Alexia."

"Sirius. Sirius dies in my fifth year of school. I watched it. It was…" she shook her head. "I need to save him, mum. It's too late."

"And this Vow, it's with Sirius? Which means he knows you're from the future."

Alex nodded shortly. "He found out when we went to fix the family trees, but only he did."

"And who helped seal it?"

"Ah. Um… Lucius Malfoy. He also found out earlier that night. It was an accident but I trust him… look, if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter. He'll die anyway."

"He's too young to make those decisions, Lexi," her mother sighed. "You should've known better."

"He knows that he's going to enter a situation in which he could die, and now he knows to avoid that. Don't you want him to live? Mum, he deserves this. He deserves a chance to be happy."

Dorea sighed and grabbed her hand. "You know more than I do, and I trust you, dear. Just remember the position you put a twelve-year-old boy in. Remember that you cannot fix everything."

"I know, mum," she looked away. "Believe me, I know."

"We haven't spoken about this much," Dorea noted. "How are you doing here?"

"I.. don't know. It's nice, you know, being here. I didn't have much of a childhood the first time with the war and all. But now… it's bittersweet. I've befriended some people that, in the future, I considered an enemy. I've also befriended people that in my time are dead, and it'll kill me to go back without them. Plus… it's unsettling having just ended the war only to go back in time and be here at the very beginning. I don't… I don't want to fight again, mum."

"You don't have to," she assured her. Lexi shook her head.

"I don't know how to not. Besides, I know some of the students in even my year become Death Eaters and I can't imagine not fighting them. And the whole thing with Dolohov…"

"Antonin Dolohov?"

Alexia nodded a little. "Turns out he's been at every major battle I've been in. He's hexed me, tried to kill me, and I think he was going to kidnap me once. Also… the day I left, he called me Alexia."

"I see," Dorea hummed. "You'll let us know if he becomes trouble?"

"Yeah."

Dorea's eyes flicked back over to the black line down her arm. "There's nothing we can do about it now, but I'll warn you not to do anything like this again."

"Yes, mum."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

 **September 1st, 1972**

James shoved Alexia forward as they rushed after their parents onto the train. They were twenty minutes early and the platform was surprisingly empty. Their parents helped them get their things onto the train before they hugged and exited, much to everyone's disappointment. Charlus and Dorea were expected at the Ministry as some odd Aunt had died finally and they had to sort out her estates.

James took his seat and Lexi sat across from him, tapping her wand against her thigh, her gut churning anxiously. Her brother tossed a paper airplane at her head to get her attention. "Hey!"

"Calm down, Lex," he rolled his eyes. "It's just school."

"I'm not worried about that, idiot," she scoffed. "I'm worried about Sirius."

"Why?"

"I know you don't care to write your friends, but I do. He hasn't responded all summer, and my letters eventually started coming back to me. Something's wrong."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"You haven't met his mother," she disagreed. "She's despicable. I'm worried, Jamie."

"Okay. Okay. I'm sure he'll be here soon and we can make sure he's okay."

She was skeptical but waited silently, counting down the minutes until the train left. Five minutes before, Remus and Peter joined them. Two minutes before and Sirius finally opened the door to the compartment.

Alexia shot up and threw her arms around him. "I've been so worried!"

"It's okay, kitten," he let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed her back. "Can you let me sit?"

"Sure," she nodded, turning to James. "Move."

He rolled his eyes at her but still moved to sit next to Pete so that she could lay her head in Sirius's lap. It was only after she'd manhandled him into a sitting position when she noticed another boy standing in the door, confused. "Oh."

"C'mon, Reg," Sirius waved his little brother in. Regulus closed the door behind him and sat nervously across from his brother, his eyes darting between Sirius and Alexia. "This is the girl I was telling you about, my friend. Alexia."

Lexi pulled herself into a sitting position again. "It's so nice to meet you."

"And you as well," the boy bowed his head respectfully.

"You don't have to do that," Sirius shook his head. "It's just Lexi."

"Lucius did it when we met, too," she elbowed Sirius. "It's respectful."

"Oh, and you curtsey when you meet people?"

She blushed. "You may have a point."

"I'm Remus Lupin," the werewolf introduced. "You're Sirius's brother? Too bad we didn't meet at the New Year's Ball."

"It was a busy night," Sirius reminded his friend. "Next to you is James Potter, Lexi's twin, and next to him is Peter Pettigrew."

"It is nice to meet you all," Regulus said formally. Alexia could see the tension in his entire body and she remembered the first time she'd ever been to Hogwarts and how nervous she was. She couldn't imagine how Regulus felt. He was sitting with a group of Gryffindors while his parents expected him to be in Slytherin. As far as she was aware, that's where he went.

"Are you okay?" she whispered to Sirius. He nodded.

"We'll talk later," he assured her, whispering back.

"So, Regulus, are you excited for school?" James asked curiously.

"I am," the boy confirmed. "I read my potions book over summer. I think that'll be my best class."

"Charms is mine," James said.

"DADA," Lexi spoke up with a grin.

"DADA for me, too," Remus nodded along.

"Transfiguration," Sirius sighed. "Pete?"

"Charms."

The conversation changed to favorite spells, hexes, curses, and charms, and they told Regulus which ones they found the hardest. After a while, Sirius and Alexia quieted, and while everyone else talked, she scooted closer to whisper to him.

"Jamie found my Vow mark and told Mum, so she knows now."

"She knows everything?"

Lexi nodded. "Dumbledore told them before handing me over. It's just Dumbledore, my parents, you, and Lucius that know. Everyone else just knows I used to be nineteen."

"Well, I haven't said anything," he promised. "I might not look like it, but I am actually good at keeping secrets."

She offered him a smile. "I trust you."

"Stop whispering," James whined, interrupting them. "I'm bored."

"Prongs, we've been here for twenty minutes," Sirius laughed. "You're already bored?"

"I'm always bored."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Slytherin!"

Alexia clapped as Regulus threw a helpless look at Sirius as he walked over to the Slytherin table to be greeted by Severus. She grabbed her friend's hand and squeezed it underneath the table. The disappointment on his face was obvious.

As the sorting ceremony continued on, she traced patterns on Sirius's arm to keep him calm. She knew he'd been hoping his little brother would join him in Gryffindor. The rest of the ceremony went slow and when it was over, Dumbledore introduced their new DADA teacher, Professor Septimus Weasley. He was Arthur's father and an Auror, much to Alexia's surprise.

The feast ended after an hour of eating and talking, and Alexia and her friends slipped away from everyone else to run through the castle to beat the first years there. They went up to the second year boys' dorm and claimed their beds while Alexia sat on a bed that Remus ended up taking.

"So, Pads, what happened?" Remus asked. The boy let out a sigh before sitting down and resigning himself to the conversation.

"She cut off all contact," he told them, stating the obvious. "Gave me extra classes in the dark arts and grounded me. I think she had my mail returned to sender."

"She did," Alexia told him bitterly.

"I told her I was all good and evil," he explained. "I think it's the only reason she didn't pull me out of school if I'm honest."

"She's despicable."

"Well, I'm here," he stated firmly, promptly ending the discussion. "How were your summers?"

"Lexi shoved me in a pool!" James exclaimed.

"Prongs, she shoved us all in a pool," Remus rolled his eyes at his friend.

"And none of you could get me in," she grinned proudly.

"That is a blatant lie," Pete glared. "You cheated and used magic."

"I bet I could get her in a pool," Sirius announced cockily. Alexia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

"We'll see."

OoOoOoOoOoOo


End file.
